Cristiano Ronaldo was given a red card during Real Madrid’s Super Cup match against Barcelona, then proceeded to show the referee.
Whenever Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi meet up on the pitch, fireworks usually ensue. That was the case during Sunday’s Super Cup match between European heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona, when Ronaldo was tossed after drawing a red card and proceeded to shove the official who sent him off.
There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s just dive right in — emphasis on dive.
Ronaldo was given a yellow card earlier in the match for celebrating a goal by taking his shirt off. While not a crime by any stretch (seriously, Ronaldo shirtless?) it was a violation on the pitch according to the official. That foul ended up coming back to bite him later on when he was caught diving and assessed a second yellow, which turned it into a red card and an ejection.
Watch after the red card is pulled for a shove of the official.
This likely isn’t the end of this matter, as not even someone as massively popular as Ronaldo can get away with something like shoving an official during a match.
Real Madrid didn’t miss Ronaldo on the pitch, as Marco Asensio punched past Barca’s Ter Stegen to make it a 3-1 lead. The long term effects of this are what will be felt by Barcelona, who can’t stand to have their top player gone for too long.
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It’s an incredibly deep roster of talent for Real, but Ronaldo is the best and most popular footballer in the world, and having him drawing reds and shoving officials isn’t really the look anyone in La Liga or any soccer federation wants to see.