El Clasico never fails to disappoint and last night’s contest between Barcelona and Real Madrid in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup was certainly packed with entertainment.After a goalless first half, the excitement picked up in the second half when Gerard Pique’s own goal gave Real the lead.Barça were level in the 77th minute when Lionel Messi converted a penalty after Luis Suarez appeared to dive inside the box.But Cristiano Ronaldo, brought on in the 58th minute, made it 2-1 just minutes later with a ferocious left-footed strike.Ronaldo’s night quickly went downhill. Booked for taking his shirt off in celebration, the Portuguese was shown another yellow card shortly afterwards when referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea deemed his fall inside Barça’s penalty area a dive.Ronaldo responded by pushing the official and has subsequently been hit with a five-match ban.Marco Asensio made it 3-1 to Real with a beautiful goal but Ronaldo’s sending off - and subsequent punishment - has taken the shine off the victory a little bit.
Watch: Ronaldo pushes the referee
Five-match ban
The five-match ban was handed down on Monday. The Royal Spanish Football Federation banned the 32-year-old for one match for drawing the red card, and the other four for pushing De Burgos Bengoetxe.
"Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro - having been shown the red card, the player pushed me slightly in a sign of his disagreement," the Basque official wrote in the official match report, via ESPN.
Real Madrid fans are furious with the suspension, not least because Suarez escaped punishment for his dive.
But they’ll be even more incensed when an incident involved Lionel Messi in 2009 is recalled.
Messi pushed the ref in 2009
The Argentinian pushed a referee in a 2009 El Clasico - but escaped punishment.
It was only afterwards that the law for punishing players for any aggressive acts towards referees was introduced, and so Messi escaped scot-free.
Check out Messi’s push below.
Madrid will appeal
Article 96 of the RFEF’s disciplinary code, which states: "Pulling, pushing or shaking, or a general attitude towards the match officials which, even if only slightly violent, without confirming an aggressive attitude on their part, will be punished with a suspension of four to 12 games.”
According to Marca, Los Blancos intend to appeal Ronaldo’s punishment - and it’s easy to see why considering the length of the suspension and the four-time Ballon d’Or winner’s importance to Zinedine Zidane’s side.
Sergio Ramos said: “We can appeal as it leaves us without a very important player, with 10 minutes left. [The referee] should have thought about it a bit more."