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 Spain international was booked in the 89th minute of his side’s 2-1 victory in Amsterdam, which means he is suspended for the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu on March 5.
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.
However, UEFA has opted to charge the Madrid captain with receiving a yellow card on purpose, with their Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body to hear the case on Thursday.
Last week, Valencia midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia was given a two-match ban by UEFA for being booked deliberately in the Europa League meeting with Celtic.
The midfielder was given a yellow card in the 82nd minute of his side’s 2-0 win in Glasgow for delaying a free-kick.
A caution late on in the first leg earlier this month ruled the 32-year-old out of the second leg for the defending champions.
Cards received during the competition are wiped but not until the quarter-final stage, meaning a booking in the Dutch capital would have ruled him out of the first game of any last eight clash.
Instead, the World Cup winner opted to miss the second leg, with Real odds-on to progress after away goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio.
Speaking after the game, Ramos appeared to boast about his actions while speaking to the media but could now miss the game he attempted to ensure he could be selected for.
“Looking at the result I would be lying if I said it wasn’t intentional,” he said.
"It’s something I was thinking about, it’s not to underestimate the opponent nor say the tie is over but in football you have to take difficult decisions so I decided to do it.”
En un partido son muchas tensiones, muchas sensaciones y muchas pulsaciones. Hay que tomar decisiones en segundos. Lo mejor de hoy es el resultado. Lo peor, no poder estar en la vuelta junto a mis compañeros por un lance del juego.
— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) February 13, 2019
Quiero dejar claro que me duele más que a nadie, que no he forzado la tarjeta, como tampoco lo hice contra la Roma en mi anterior partido de @ChampionsLeague, y que apoyaré desde la grada como un hincha más con la ilusión de poder estar en cuartos.#HalaMadrid https://t.co/zL0Heok5Vp
— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) February 13, 2019
However, having appeared to realise the severity of the act, Ramos made a swift back-track on social media.
“In a game there is always a lot of tension and you have to take decisions in seconds. The best thing about tonight was the result, the worst that I will not be in the second leg due to one moment in the game,” he posted.
“I want to make it clear that this hurts me more than it would hurt anyone, I did not get the yellow card on purpose, just like the last yellow card I got in the competition, and I will be supporting from the stands like any other fan hoping we get into the quarter-finals.”
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