Opinion: Ban for Sergio Ramos is just reward for astonishing arrogance
The decision by UEFA to hand Real Madrid centre back Sergio Ramos a two-match ban for picking up a deliberate booking in the first leg of their last 16 tie against Ajax, was entirely justified.
Despite his protests to the contrary, Ramos, who has one of the worst disciplinary records in the history of football, clearly knew what he was doing in a calculated attempt to make sure he wouldn't be suspended for the quarterfinals of the competition.
That misguided decision has come back to bite him with the ban ensuring that he will miss the first leg of the quarter-final should Madrid progress through.
Which brings me to the main point of this article and the astonishing arrogance of both the player and the club that he plays for.
Had Real Madrid thrashed Ajax in the first leg the decision they took would be much more understandable. As it stands though, they go into the game this evening with a narrow 2-1 lead and without their captain and centre back.
Shorn of the talents of Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid are enduring a difficult season. The title looks to be heading to Barcelona once more, who also knocked them out of the Spanish Cup.
The semi-final with a talented young Ajax side is very finely poised and the fact that Ramos and seemingly the Real Madrid management team thought that a slender 2-1 advantage was comfortable enough to justify seeking a deliberate yellow card was frankly astonishing and will surely motivate the visiting Ajax players to show Ramos just how wrong he was to assume that the tie was over.
All the Spanish side have achieved by their actions has been to give their opponents added motivation going into the second leg. They've played a very dangerous game and it may come back to bite them, if not tonight but also in the first leg of the quarter-final which Ramos will now miss.