Ronaldo, the Nose-breaker, Sees 2 Game Ban

Published by adam | Filed under Football (aka soccer), Miscellaneous

So if you type in “Ronaldo nose” in Google Search, or just “Ronaldo nos” for that matter, Google gives you “Cristiano Ronaldo nose job”. It says nothing about the late broken nose that one Ronaldo gave Malaga FC‘s Patrick Mtiliga.





Real Madrid superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, was fined €600 for the incident… a whopping €600 fine, that is, for the world’s most expensive player. Of course Cristiano was not trying to hurt, or say, break the nose of his opponent, but the 2nd swing was unnecessary, unjustified, and absolutely malicious. Whether to the chest, face, or nose, it was a swing, and a very hard one. Real was also fined €180. Is this a joke?


There is no doubt it was an accident, but a dangerous accident at that. There is no denying. The 2 game ban, in the end, is a just punishment. I do think that Mtiliga deserved at least a yellow for being short, I mean… provoking the incident with the blatant shirt tug. The circumstance was ill-timed and a very unfortunate one for both parties.


The suspension and fines, according to the Spanish football federation (RFEF), were not based on intent or recklessness, but dangerous play. Of course there are mixed feelings about the incident. Los Blancos manager Jorge Valdano quotes,


“The referee has to understand which players want to entertain and those who want to break up the spectacle…Cristiano wants to play. When a player grabs him from behind he tries to break away from them. Others throw themselves to the ground to simulate a foul…


More than Ronaldo’s need to adapt to the Spanish league the referees need to adapt to protect players who want to entertain. I don’t want to judge referees decisions, simply to state that Ronaldo’s intentions are always noble.”


Ronaldo questions the referee’s decision in WSN’s Quote of the Week.


“People who understand football know that my intention is always to try and play…The red card is a disgrace. I don’t understand it. I learned in England not to deceive the referees. This is not a red card here or in anywhere in the world and I’m not asking for protection. I’ve seen worse things in other games.”


One more time… “I learned in England not to deceive the referees.”


You can’t be serious. You were the epitome of how to deceive the referees during your CR7 tenure at Manchester United. You have indeed gotten better at diving, flopping, whining, etc and are no longer spending the majority of games on the ground, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt.