Former Premier League referee, Mark Clattenburg has explained why Juventus forward, Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off in his side’s 2-0 win against Valencia in the UEFA Champions League fixture played on Wednesday night.
Ronaldo was shown a straight red card by the referee, Felix Brych, during the first half of the encounter, following a coming-together with Jeison Murillo in an off-the-ball incident.
Clattenburg believes that the Portuguese captain was sent off because the assistant referee on the side of the pitch may have told the match referee, Brych that an elbow was used by the 33-year-old.
He added that if he was to be the referee for the game, he would have given Valencia a free-kick and shown a yellow card to both Ronaldo and Murillo.
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“Cristiano Ronaldo was very unfortunate to be sent off on his Champions League debut for Juventus, Clattenburg told Daily Mail.
“With the ball on the left wing, the forward tried to make a run into the penalty area and was blocked off by Jeison Murillo.
“There was a small push from Ronaldo which resulted in the Valencia defender falling to the floor but that was not violent conduct.
“It was spotted by the additional assistant, standing behind the goal, who may have thought Ronaldo threw an elbow but that was not the case.
“Ronaldo was then clearly annoyed by Murillo’s play-acting and placed a hand on the defender’s head.
“The contact looked very slight and I cannot see how the additional assistant, standing some 20 yards away, could deem it violent conduct.
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“If I had been officiating this game, I would have given Valencia a free-kick and shown a yellow card to each player.
“Ronaldo will serve a one-match ban but anything more would be harsh.”
Ronaldo will now miss Juventus’ next game against Swiss side, Young Boys, after receiving his first ever Champions League red card on Wednesday.