Cristiano Ronaldo couldn’t believe it when he saw referee Felix Brych reaching for his red card on Wednesday night.
Ronaldo was brought to tears after he was given his marching orders on the half-hour mark of Juventus’ 2-0 victory over Valencia.
The Portuguese superstar was sent for an early shower following a clash with opposition defender Jeison Murillo, after which Ronaldo appeared to grab Murillo’s head.
An appeal is almost certain to follow because of the innocuous nature of the incident and Juve manager Max Allegri has insisted that the decision never would have stood if VAR had been used.
An unusual conspiracy theory has since been posited which suggests that there was a bit more to Ronaldo’s red card.
Journalist Edu Aguirre, speaking on Spanish TV show El Chiringuito, has suggested that it’s not outside the realms of possibility to consider that Uefa have a vendetta against Ronaldo after he refused to attend the governing body’s awards gala last month.
Conspiracy theories aplenty. This the best. Ronaldo sending off revenge for not going to the UEFA gala. https://t.co/eCXu3rallQ
— Dan Thomas (@DanThomasESPN) September 19, 2018
It’s a tad ridiculous to believe that Uefa would be so vexed by Ronaldo’s no-show that they would tell a match official to give him unfair treatment so we’d take this particular theory with a plateful of salt.
Ronaldo missed out on Uefa Men’s Player of the Year award last month, with Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric taking home the honour.
And after his most high-profile client turned down the invitation to attend the ceremony, super-agent Jorge Mendes branded Ronaldo’s snub for the prize “shameful.”
“Simply ridiculous,” Mendes told Record. “Football is played within the four lines and there, Cristiano Ronaldo won.
“He scored 15 goals, carried Real Madrid on his back to conquer the Champions League once again.
“It’s simply ridiculous, shameful.”
