Sergio Ramos’ ‘intentional’ booking to miss return leg could backfire heavily

Captain Shithouse is at it again

Nothing should surprise us when it comes to Sergio Ramos anymore. If it emerged that he owned a pet tiger, I would think 'yes, that seems about right'. I wouldn't put it past him to take this metaphorical tiger on in fight. And win. Anyway this story isn't about tigers, but it is about Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid's captain and notorious shithouse. During Tuesday night's round of 16 tie between Real Madrid and Ajax in the Champions League, Ramos picked up a yellow card in the 89th minute, which rules him out of the return leg in Madrid. https://twitter.com/i/status/1095804296451555336 The timing of the card, as well as how unnecessary it was, led to accusations that he got himself cautioned deliberately, in order to wipe his card tally before the quarter-finals, confident that Madrid would not throw away a 3-1 lead. In fact, Ramos all but admitted that it was deliberate. In the mixed zone after the game, he said: "Looking at the result, I'd be lying if I said I didn't force it. It's something I was thinking about." His admission that he 'was thinking about it' could mean his plan spectacularly backfires, though - his one game ban could become a two game ban, if Uefa find him guilty of purposefully getting himself booked. According to Uefa's rulebook, players face a two-game suspension “for clearly receiving a yellow or red card on purpose”. Ramos' teammate Dani Carvajal suffered the same fate last season when a yellow card he picked up against Apoel Nicosia was deemed to have been deliberate. Real Madrid do look on course to progress to the quarter-finals, but losing Ramos for the first leg of the next round would be a major blow, especially when you consider the quality of opponent they will come up against.