MADRID, Feb 17 — Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos entrenched his reputation as the bad boy of Spanish football by earning a staggering 25th red card for the club in today’s 2-1 defeat at home by Girona which scuppered Real’s hopes of a late push for the La Liga title.
Ramos gave away the penalty from which Girona equalised by appearing to block a goal-bound shot in the area, escaping a potential straight red card but still earning a booking.
But the defender, who has been sent off more than any player in Spanish football, still managed to complete a quarter century of dismissals by getting a second yellow for kicking Girona’s Pedro Alcala in the face as he attempted an overhead kick.
The red card saw Ramos, 32, become the first player to be sent off 20 times in La Liga but fortunately for him and Real, he will only serve a one-game ban, missing next week’s trip to Levante but returning against Barcelona on March 2.
The dismissal also completed a troublesome week for Ramos, who is the subject of a Uefa investigation after appearing to admit that he had received a yellow card in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg at Ajax Amsterdam on purpose.
Ramos denies the accusation, but if he is found guilty of intentionally earning a yellow card he would be suspended from the first leg of a potential quarter-final tie if Real progress.
The Spain defender has played 601 games for Real since joining from Sevilla in 2005 for €27 million (RM124.6 million), earning four red cards in his first season with the club, including two in his first month.
However, he has never been sent off in 161 appearances for the Spanish national team. — Reuters
