Sergio Ramos Charged by UEFA for Deliberate Booking

Sergio Ramos Charge by UEFA |Image Credit: Reuters

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has been charged by UEFA for deliberately earning a yellow card in Real Madrid's Champions League last-16 first-leg win at Ajax.

The defender was booked after he fouled Kasper Dolberg in the 89th minute of his side’s 2-1 victory in Amsterdam, which will see him out of the second leg tie at Santiago Bernabeu on March 5.

Sources says the Spain international, Ramos suggested in an interview after the match that he had been booked intentionally so as to avoid the risk of a suspension in the quarter-finals, although he later backtracked on those comments on social media.

Real Madrid's Defender who granted an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca was quoted saying:

"I'm very surprised about all this. I was referring to forcing the foul, a foul that was inevitable. Not to forcing the booking,"

"It was a very dangerous counter-attack in the 88th minute, with an open match and the tie as well.

"That's why I said that I would lie if I said I did not know that I was carrying a penalty, just as I knew that I had no other choice than to make a mistake. And that's what I meant when I said that in football you have to make complicated decisions."

"If I had wanted to force a penalty, I could have done it in the group stage, in the match against Roma because we were already classified as first of groups and the last game, against CSKA, was inconsequential. By the way, a match in which I did not play."

UEFA has opted to charge Ramos with receiving a yellow card on purpose, with their Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body to hear the case on Thursday 28 of February 2019.