REFEREE PUSH
Real coach Zidane angered by five-game Ronaldo ban
Madrid — Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane expressed his anger on Tuesday at a five-game ban handed to Cristiano Ronaldo for pushing a referee after being sent off against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. Madrid hold a 3-1 lead going into the second leg against their rivals on Wednesday, but will have to do without Ronaldo. The World Player of the Year was controversially shown a second yellow card for diving on Sunday and handed an extra four-game ban for a light push on referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea after being shown the 10th red card of his career. "We are very annoyed. When you look at everything that happened, to think Cristiano won’t play five games with us… it is infuriating," Zidane said. Madrid’s appeal against Ronaldo’s red card, which could reduce the ban from five games to four, will be held before the game on Wednesday. "The [appeals] committee will meet and I hope they look well upon it," Zidane said. "Cristiano is annoyed because he wants to play and when he...
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