Ronaldo handed 5-match ban for pushing referee
Real Madrid will be without Cristiano Ronaldo to begin the La Liga season after the Portuguese superstar was issued a five-match suspension for pushing the match official during Sunday's Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona.
He was handed a four-match ban for his altercation with the match official by the Royal Spanish Football Federation in addition to the customary one-match suspension for his red card in the first-leg victory.
Ronaldo - who remains eligible to appear in Real Madrid's Champions League group stage matches in September - has 10 days to appeal the ruling.
The incident occurred in the second half of Real Madrid's 3-1 victory at the Camp Nou after Ronaldo was shown a second yellow card for his perceived simulation in the Barcelona penalty area.
The stunned 32-year-old approached referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea to plead his case before shoving him and walking off the pitch.
It was the conclusion of a frenetic cameo appearance by Ronaldo, who entered the encounter in the second half before putting Real Madrid ahead with a sumptuous strike in the 80th minute and earning his first yellow card for removing his shirt in celebration. His day was over two minutes later.
The loss of its superstar will be a massive blow for the defending La Liga champion, as Ronaldo is slated to miss the second-leg clash at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday as well as Real Madrid's opening four league matches against Deportivo, Valencia, Levante, and Real Sociedad.
Ronaldo will be eligible to return to action Sept. 20 when Los Blancos host Real Betis.