Maybe Juventus won’t appeal Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card after all.
The conversation after Ronaldo’s controversial red card against Valencia on Wednesday night was dominated by the likelihood of an appeal from the Old Lady.
Ronaldo received his marching orders after a coming together with Valencia defender Jeison Murillo on the half-hour mark of the Group H opener in what appeared to be a very harsh decision.
Referee Felix Brych was confronted by several members of Juventus’ boardroom staff at half-time of the game and Ronaldo’s former Manchester United teammate, Rio Ferdinand, urged Juve to appeal the red card.
Surely got to appeal this… @Cristiano?? #Juve #UCL pic.twitter.com/aL76vq2xTj
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) September 19, 2018
But apparently, Ronaldo doesn’t need to appeal the decision in order to be eligible for Juventus’ trip to Old Trafford on October 23.
Many believed that Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford was in doubt but according to a report in the Guardian, the Portuguese superstar is only facing a one-match ban for the red card, meaning he would only miss out on his side’s clash with Young Boys on October 2.
Contrary to early claims, Ronaldo is set to dodge a two-match ban because his offence is not deemed to be serious.
Given the likelihood that Ronaldo was going be rested against Young Boys regardless, it may benefit Juventus not to risk having their appeal rejected and further scrutiny from Uefa by allowing their £99 million summer signing to serve his one-game ban without added drama.
