The Spanish football federation has banned Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos for five matches for disrespecting the referee during their Copa del Rey victory against Celta Vigo.
Ramos, the defender for Spain and a member of FIFA’s team of the year, was shown a second yellow card in the 73rd minute of Wednesday’s 4-0 win at the Bernabeu over Augusto Fernandez in the second leg of the last-16.
According to the referee’s report, the 26-year-old insulted the official and his assistant as he was leaving the field. He was given a red card and four games for his remarks to the match authorities.
I want to apologize to the coaching staff, my colleagues, and the fans, regardless of whether I think it’s fair or not,” Ramos tweeted.
“I hope they will be as equally ‘strict and fair’ with the referees that make mistakes game after game.”
Real has the option to challenge the ruling, which now keeps Ramos out of the Copa quarterfinal matches against Valencia and Osasuna as well as Getafe and Valencia in La Liga.
This season, the RFEF has adopted a firm position against insults directed at referees.
Coach Jose Mourinho is devastated by Ramos’ departure, as he is already without Pepe, his other first-choice center back.
The Portugal defender may miss several weeks of action following surgery on his ankle last week.
Despite not having played yet in 2013, full-backs Marcelo and Fabio Coentrao have just recently resumed training following injuries.
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