The Real Madrid Manager, was handed a touchline ban for one UEFA Champions League match, as well a fine after the Real match against Ajax ended controversially. The Portuguese manager has been accused of ordering two of his players
to deliberately incur red cards, in order to ‘wipe their slate clean’ for the next knockout round of sixteen in the Competition.
The players who were subsequently sent off after ‘time wasting’ were Spanish internationals Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos. Real Madrid won the match against Ajax by 4-0 in the Amsterdam Arena through a goal by Karim Benzema, Alvaro
Arbeloa and two from the Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo. The win enabled Mourinho’s team to sit on the top of their Group G table with thirteen points, five more than second placed AC Milan. Alonso and Ramos were sent off at the 87th and 90th
minute. The red cards will disallow the two Spaniards to play against the bottom of the group, Auxerre in what may be termed as a ‘dead rubber match’, as Mourinho’s men have already qualified for the next round with this match in hand.
In addition to Mourinho’s ban, the manager must pay €40,000 and his club has been sent a fine of €120,000. The four players involved in the incident have been sent fines but not been banned for any fixtures in the tournament. Xabi
Alonso and Sergio Ramos face a punishment of paying €20,000 each to the UEFA disciplinary and control body. The other two players involved in the incident, the goal keeper on the field during the match, Iker Casillas and the substitute goal keeper, Jerzy Dudek,
face a slightly less financial penalty of €10,000 and €5,000. The red cards that the two Spaniards obtained in the match have not been overturned, which means that all three members of Real Madrid- that is Mourinho and the two players will miss the match against
Auxerre. The charges have been brought to the members of Real Madrid, after UEFA accused them of ‘improper conduct’, although there was no clear violation of any rule.
Video replays show that during the later phase of the game, the reserve goal keeper, Dudek was conferring with Casillas. The discussion has led to much speculation whether the substitute was sent to specially deliver the message
to the Spanish goal keeper who would in turn advise the duo to get themselves sent off. The UEFA governing body first launched a fresh set of inquiries on the 24th of November, as to whether the players deliberately provoked the referee to give
them their marching orders. Real Madrid are said to not have directly violated any rules, but could face a penalty owing to article Number 5.1 which deals with UEFA’s rules concerning sportsmanship, loyalty and integrity. Mourinho had commented on his players’dismissal,
by saying “The sendings-off came after an easy game where the referee has shown some strange yellows. They are cards that I don't like.” He elaborated further by saying the cards did not “matter hugely.” Ramos explained that he did time waste, but was not
expecting the card, nor had any intention of receiving the card. He stated that his time wasting antics were an effort to end the match quickly and not incur the red and the referee could have spared both players, knowing that a suspension would see them miss
the Auxerre game and more importantly ‘wipe their disciplinary slates clean’ ahead of the knockout round. Critics argue that the referee was partly to blame, as he could have simply added the seconds wasted by Ramos and Alonso to the injury time in the end
of the match.
The touchline ban and fine will come after a dismal defeat for Real Madrid at the hands of Spanish giants and rivals, Barcelona. Pep Guardiola’s team managed to score five goals against Jose Mourinho’s men in the first El Clasico
of the season, which followed an enormous amount of anticipation and hype. None of the Real Madrid squad faced the media after the detrimental defeat, besides the manager, who spoke about the match as being the first time he had “ever been beaten 5-0," went
on to say, "It is a historically bad result for us. It is not a humiliation but I am very disappointed. It is sad for us.” Real Madrid face Valencia next on the 4th of December and will be hoping to learn from their humiliation at Camp Nou.
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