THE Italian newspaper Tuttosport has called for referee Felix Brych to be dropped by Uefa after his sending-off of Cristiano Ronaldo in Juventus’ Champions League win at Valencia on Wednesday night, branding the German’s display at Mestalla “shameful”. Juventus’ Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (L) cries next to Juventus’ Italian midfielder Federico Bernardeschi after receiving a red card during the UEFA Champions League group H football match between Valencia CF and Juventus FC at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia on September 19, 2018.
Making his first appearance back in Spain since his summer move from Real Madrid to Juve, Ronaldo left the field in tears when he was shown a red card by Brych – following consultation with assistant Marco Fritz – after appearing to grab defender Jeison Murillo’s hair shortly before the half-hour mark. In an editorial entitled “dedicated to Cristiano Ronaldo”,
Tuttosport journalist Xavier Jacobelli on Thursday railed against the “scandalous” performance of Brych and Fritz, labelling the pair’s decision to give Ronaldo his marching orders a “veritable insult to football”
