Ronaldo was deemed to have Simeone with the celebration
UEFA have charged Cristiano Ronaldo with improper conduct after the Juventus forward appeared to mock Diego Simeone by grabbing his crotch in the win over Atletico Madrid.
The Spanish side earned a seemingly decisive 2-0 lead in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie a fortnight before Tuesday’s return game. As the second goal went in, coach Simeone turned to the stand behind the dugout and made a gesture which – as he put it – was “to say to our fans we have bollocks”.
Juventus had the last laugh with a 3-0 win back in Turin, Ronaldo netting a hat-trick to continue his incredible record of scoring against Atletico, a side he continuously troubled while a Real Madrid player.
At the final whistle, the striker mimicked Simeone’s celebration with an exaggerated gesture of his own. However, UEFA have taken a dim view of it and charged him with improper conduct on Monday.
New goal celebration from Cristiano Ronaldo 😂😂😂#JuveAtletico #JuveAtleti #UCL pic.twitter.com/YGgcE5c9N9
— Skiller ✪ (@RonalGinho10) March 12, 2019
Simeone was fined €20,000 (£17,000) following his initial crotch-grab celebration and he later apologised. Whether Ronaldo receives the same punishment will no doubt pale into insignificance after his hat-trick heroics put Juve into the quarter-finals.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1098338905521356800
The Italian giants were drawn to play Ajax in the next round in Friday’s draw in their attempt to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time since 1996, having lost in five finals since then.
