'Champions League ban on Cristiano Ronaldo would be crazy', says Federico Bernardeschi

What's the story?

Juventus winger Federico Bernardeschi has come out in defence of teammate Cristiano Ronaldo amid the UEFA's investigation into the Portuguese's 'cojones' celebration during the Old Lady's second leg victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

In case you didn't know...

Ronaldo emerged as the hero for Juventus' Champions League hopes as he solely overturned a two-goal deficit with a record-breaking hat-trick against his old Madrid rivals. With the goals, the 34-year-old equaled Barcelona captain Lionel Messi's Champions League hat-trick record (8).

What came after the hat-trick became the center of a UEFA investigation as Ronaldo was seen celebrating his goal-scoring exploits with Diego Simeone's infamous 'cojones' celebration.

The Atletico boss has since been fined €20,000 as punishment for his first-leg celebration and it remains to be seen how the UEFA will reprimand Ronaldo for the same.

The heart of the matter

Bernardeschi has claimed that a ban on Ronaldo for the celebration would be "crazy" as the Portuguese talisman is always "calm and relaxed".

Speaking in a press conference, the Juventus star said (via Football Italia), "I don’t think anything needs to be added. It’s something that I don’t think needs looking at, but [a ban] would be crazy. I think it’ll end there, that it was a celebration, a gesture. I always see him in a calm and relaxed manner, but we all are. I’m sure everything will be fine."

He added, "We wrote a piece of Juventus history. We put the worth of the team in writing. I was very pleased to play in that game and that the Coach put his faith in me. I also tried to give everything on the pitch."

What's next?

After charging Ronaldo with misconduct earlier this week, UEFA will make a decision on his punishment tomorrow.

The Old Lady will return to action after the international break when they face Empoli in the Serie A on March 30.