Sergio Ramos facing Champions League ban for intentional booking at Ajax

Uefa has launched a disciplinary investigation in response to Sergio Ramos’s revelation that he intentionally got himself booked in the Champions League.

The Real Madrid captain could now be banned from the first leg of the quarter-final after admitting he wanted to receive a yellow card during Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Ajax in Amsterdam.

With Madrid 2-1 up in the last-16 first leg, Ramos was shown a yellow card in the 89th minute, his third booking of the European campaign, which means he will be suspended from the second leg of the tie in the Spanish capital on 5 March. Should the holders progress to the last eight, Ramos would then have a clean slate for the final stretch of Europe’s elite competition.

In an extraordinary post-match interview Ramos revealed he broke Uefa’s rules and as a result he is now in line for an extra one-match ban. “Looking at the result I would be lying if I said it wasn’t intentional,” Ramos said. “It’s something I was thinking about, it’s not to underestimate the opponent nor say the tie is over but in football you have to take difficult decisions so I decided to do it.”

The centre-half is no stranger to controversy, having faced fierce criticism in last season’s Champions League final after his rugged challenge on Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah prematurely ended the Egyptian’s participation in the match. On Thursday Uefa confirmed it had launched a disciplinary investigation “in connection with the statements made” by Ramos.

The Spain international, who was playing his 600th game for Madrid, later attempted a U-turn with two posts on Twitter.

“In a game there is always a lot of tension and you have to take decisions in seconds. The best thing about tonight was the result, the worst that I will not be in the second leg due to one moment in the game,” Ramos posted.

“I want to make it clear that this hurts me more than it would hurt anyone, I did not get the yellow card on purpose, just like the last yellow card I got in the competition, and I will be supporting from the stands like any other fan hoping we get into the quarter-finals.”

Ramos’s teammate Dani Carvajal was punished by Uefa last season for intentionally getting booked in a group stage game at Apoel Nicosia. The full-back was charged by Uefa’s disciplinary committee for “receiving a yellow card on purpose” and was suspended for their final group game against Borussia Dortmund and their last-16 first leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

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Uefa added that Ajax had been charged over the throwing of objects, setting off of fireworks and display of an “illicit banner” by fans. Real were also charged with the setting off of fireworks.

Bale could face ban

Gareth Bale has been reported by La Liga to the Spanish Football Federation over his provocative celebration in Real’s 3-1 derby win at Atlético Madrid on Saturday.

A statement on La Liga’s official website said: “In minute 73 of the game, after Gareth Bale, number 11 of Real Madrid, scored his team’s third goal, some jeering is heard from the home crowd by the audio-visual recordings during the celebration. And he moves his right arm up towards his head in a signal of provocation towards the fans, creating a possibly obscene gesture by moving his other arm and striking halfway up his right arm.”

The statement included reference to a possible suspension of four to 12 games.

Atlético, meanwhile, have announced that Diego Simeone has renewed his contract as manager until 2022.