Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is a major doubt for the upcoming second El Clasico of the week against Barcelona on Saturday. During Wednesday’s Copa del Rey’s semi-final defeat to the Catalan giants, Ramos came off worse after colliding with his Real Madrid teammate Casemiro. Marca report that the clash saw Ramos catch his already ailing hamstring problem and the Real Madrid captain will now be going through fitness tests right up until the build-up to the epic clash with the Catalan giants. With Nacho also missing out through suspension and Raphael Varane carrying a physical problem, Ramos’ absence complicates Santiago Solari’s team selection for the league encounter.
The Real Madrid captain, meanwhile also suffered a two game UEFA Champions League ban for getting a deliberate booking against Ajax. UEFA’s decision on the same stated that the player has been suspended “for clearly receiving a yellow card on purpose” during Real Madrid’s Champions League tie at Ajax.
During the 2-1 victory away in Amsterdam, the Madrid captain intentionally picked up a yellow card in order to clean his slate for future games. In theory, he would have missed the second leg but been able to play without worrying in the quarter-final. His punishment has now been made official by UEFA’s Disciplinary Committee after proceedings were opened earlier this week.
“Ramos will be suspended for two games for picking up a yellow card on purpose,” was UEFA’s explanation.
Therefore, he will miss the return leg of the last 16 clash against Ajax, in addition to the first leg of their quarter-final, should they reach that stage. Ramos committed a tough tackle on Kasper Dolberg late in the game to pick up his booking and although he initially suggested in the mixed zone that he “would be lying if he didn’t force it,” he later backtracked on those comments in an interview with MARCA.
“It was a dangerous counter-attack in the 88th minute in an open game in the elimination stage of the competition which is why I said that I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know that I could be punished,” he told MARCA. “I knew that I had no choice and that’s what I meant when I said that in football you must make complicated decisions. “If I wanted to force the suspension then I’d have done it in the group stage.”
In addition, Gol’s television cameras captured images in which Ramos went to the bench to ask if he should force the yellow card.