UEFA Probe Real Madrid's late sending offs against Ajax
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho faces a UEFA investigation after it is alleged that their players got sent of deliberately in the dying moments of the match against Ajax when they were leading 4-0.
Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos were guilty of time wasting and were dismissed after being shown 2nd yellow card in the game. It means they will now miss the last match of the group stage against Auzerre.
UEFA, European football’s governing body have now vowed to investigate the incident and said that their disciplinary unit will look into the incident after receiving an official, Craig Thomson’s report. Under the article 5.1 of UEFA’s regulations if the
players are found guilty of loyalty, integrity or sportsmanship, they could be charged and their one match ban could be extended.
Mourinho on the other hand defended his player by pointing his finger at the referee. The Portuguese questioned the standards of Scottish refereeing. He was perplexed at the decision of yellow cards for time-wasting.
However there is some evidence that shows Mourinho talking to Alonso just before the red card and Marca TV showed pictures in which it is clear that the Former Chelsea boss sent a spoken message to Sergio Ramos through substitute goal keeper Jerzy Dudek.
Dudek then went over to Iker Casillas, then the Madrid goalkeeper went directly to Ramos and said something in his ear.
When Casillas was asked about the controversial incident he defended himself by saying Dudek was only asking him about his stomach problems. And later he was suggesting to his Spanish International teammate Ramos to look out for opposition striker who was
a constant threat throughout the match.
Ramos in his defence said that his team was winning 4-0 and the game was finished at that point but the referee chose to show red cards when he could have easily saved them.
This decision sparks debate about the level of refereeing in Scotland. Their referees are currently on strike following the heavy criticism on the level of officiating in the Scottish Premier League. Mourinho’s remarks won’t help the matters either.
When the Portuguese coach was asked about the red cards he questioned Thomson’s decisions and said it was one of the easiest games to officiate but the referee made a mess of it.
The Real manager said: “I spoke with many players throughout the game, not only with Ramos and Alonso. Stories sell, but the important thing is the 4-0 win and the fantastic game we had. Let’s talk about that and not other things.”
He added: “The red cards we picked up don’t matter hugely as we have already qualified ahead of the next game against Auxerre. If Ramos and Alonso can’t play against Auxerre then there will be others, but we are not going to gift the game to the French. We
want to win them all.”
Scottish Football Association is attempting to block the planned walkout from referees for this weekend and meet on Wednesday to resolve this matter.
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