Cristiano Ronaldo has asserted that his kick aimed at Sporting Gijon midfielder Nacho Cases was ‘unintentional’. The Real Madrid superstar was seen kicking out at Cases in Real Madrid’s 5-1 victory over Sporting Gijon last night, but escaped any punishment.
After being quizzed about the incident after the game last night, Ronaldo insisted that the kick was unintentional and admitted that it shouldn’t have happened, saying “It was instinctive. They could have shown me a yellow card. If I kicked him on purpose he would not have got up. I shouldn't have done it.”
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Video footage, however, shows that despite Ronaldo’s protestations to the contrary, the Portuguese superstar appeared to deliberately aim a kick at Cases, after the Sporting Gijon midfielder had barged him off the ball with his shoulders. Cases immediately got up and protested, showing the referee his thigh which Ronaldo kicked out at, but the Portuguese star escaped censure.
It is not the first time this season that Cristiano Ronaldo has escaped punishment, as he has been involved in similar incidents with David Simon of Las Palmas and Grzegorz Krychowiak of Sevilla as well.
Ronaldo scored twice in Madrid’s 5-1 win over Sporting Gijon, but it had little effect on the table as Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both registered victories, to leave Los Blancos in third. The Madrilenos’ joy was also tempered as Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema limped off the field with injuries during the game.
Ronaldo speaks about relationship with Messi following Ballon d’Or loss
The Portuguese star also took time to talk about the fallou from the Ballon d’Or, joking that his relationship with Lionel Messi has improved to such an extent that he was his ‘official’ translator at the gala, saying “We got closer, but we have always had a good relationship. Before the gala, on the stage, I was a translator for Neymar and him [Messi]. I told them they would have to pay me.”
After Lionel Messi’s fifth win in the 2015 Ballon d’Or, a few fans of the Argentine took it upon themselves to vandalise Ronaldo’s statue in his hometown of Madeira. Ronaldo’s sister, Katia Aveiro, branded the act ‘dishonorable’ and ‘shameful’ in a Facebook post, but the Portuguese striker was far more forgiving, saying “It's something simple. There are people who love you and those who hate you. My brother got it cleaned, and that's all.”
