Real Madrid captain, Sergio Ramos, has admitted that he picked up an intentional booking towards the end of their victory over Ajax, to ensure he is available for the Champions League quarter-finals.
The LaLiga giants won 2-1, thanks to goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio.
Ajax struck back with Hakim Ziyech’s goal to keep a slither of hope going into March’s second leg.
Ramos will miss the return match, after receiving a yellow card 89 minutes into the game, for a foul he later hinted was committed on purpose.
“Looking at the result, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t force [the booking].
“It is not to underestimate the opponent nor to think that the series is over, but in football you have to make tough decisions,” Ramos said when asked by reporters about the offence.
It is not the first time that Ramos has come under the microscope for allegedly manipulating UEFA’s suspension regulations.
In November 2010, against none other than Ajax, he and Xabi Alonso were both sent off for double bookable offences at the end of a routine 4-0 victory for the Spaniards.
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