Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane faces a fine from the Spanish FA after criticising Cristiano Ronaldo’s five-match ban.
The Real Madrid forward was shown a second yellow card for simulation during Real’s 3-1 Super Copa first-leg win over Barcelona on Sunday night and Manager Zidane has reacted by criticising the spanish over the lenghty ban.
He was subsequently handed a one-match suspension for the red card and another four for his retaliation.
While that punishment was the most lenient he could have received within Spanish FA rules, Zidane appears to feel it was too harsh.
Furthermore, the French coach appeared to suggest there was an underlying anti-Real Madrid conspiracy among Spanish match officials.
“I’m disappointed. All of us are disappointed,” Zidane said ahead of the second leg on Wednesday night.
“As always, I’m not going to get involved with the referees but, when you see everything that happened.
“We are going to talk to the [appeals] committee about this as well. When you think he is not going to play in five games for us, something is up.
“It bothers me and it bothers all of us. It’s a lot of games for him and that’s all I’ll say.”
When asked to clarify his comments, Zidane continued with innuendo.
I’ve been very clear in my answer. What happened, happened,” he added.
“When you study it, at the end of the day, you say they have given Cristiano five matches and that’s a lot.
“I hope the committee look at it. But it bothers me, when I see five matches and what [punishment] they want to give him it bothers me. Cristiano wants to play. When he doesn’t play he’s not happy.
I hope people are conscious of the decisions they make and conscious of the jobs they do but, in the end, five games, it’s not worth five games.”
And it looks as though Zidane ‘s comments could land him in trouble, with Marca reporting that disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Real coach by the Referees Technical Committee and he could be fined.
“His words are being studied and there will possibly be a complaint filed and fine handed out,” a Spanish FA source is quoted as saying.
The appeals committee also upheld Ronaldo’s ban on Wednesday, meaning he will miss the Super Copa return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu as well as league matches against Deportivo, Valencia, Levante and Real Sociedad.
