CAPE TOWN – Cristiano Ronaldo is the best footballer in the world.
Okay Lionel Messi fans, calm down – it’s not just my opinion that Ronaldo is the finest on the planet, as he has won the Fifa The Best award over the last two years.
But while I am a huge admirer of Ronaldo, I can’t agree with his reaction to the red card for Juventus against Valencia in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Valencia defender Jeison Murillo did overreact initially, as he went to the ground after trying to block Ronaldo as both players entered the box. But a video posted on Youtube by Football News shows a reverse angle where Ronaldo had kicked out at Murillo.
Ronaldo then gestured angrily to Murillo to get up from the floor. But it was Ronaldo who caused a red card to come out by his next action. How could he have pulled Murillo by the hair?
Violent conduct in the laws of football, which results in a red card, is described as follows: “Violent conduct is when a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, or against a teammate, team official, match official, spectator or any other person, regardless of whether contact is made.”
Ronaldo certainly used excessive force in pulling hard on Murillo’s hair, something that many fans may not have spotted initially.
So, a bit of a ‘soft’ red card perhaps, but nevertheless the right decision by Brych.
Now Ronaldo is set to miss the Champions League clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford on October 23 – maybe that’s why he had tears in his eyes afterwards!
* What did you think of the red card? Take a look at the incident and let us know on social media…
@ashfakmohamed