Sometimes even big stars have bad days. Real Madrid still won, Cristiano Ronaldo got sent off and should be punished by a long suspension. Not just for hitting Edimar, kicking the defender, but also for what he got away with earlier – punching Jose Crespo, which went unnoticed.
Ronaldo didn’t really argue with the referee and apologized after the match. There’s no excuse that can be made for such violent behavior. Ronaldo has gotten better and better at controlling his emotions and not letting them get the best of him, something that happened quite often during his earlier days at Real Madrid and even sometimes with Manchester United.
But it can’t always be controlled. Sometimes the pressure of being level with lowly Cordoba plus being roughed up even harsher than always by defenders makes Ronaldo, and other players, go past the point of reason.
You never knows what goes on in a player’s mind. There are things off the pitch that have their affect and take their toll as well. It doesn’t matter. Ronaldo made a poor role model to the millions who worship him. There shouldn’t be any compassion from those who decide his punishment.
The fans defending Ronaldo? That’s to be expected. Being a football fan, of a team and/or player has nothing to do with objectivity. A hero, star and member of someone’s own tribe can do no wrong in their eyes, so it doesn’t really matter.
But for rational people and thinkers, what Ronaldo did is disgusting. Unlike the Luis Suarez debacle, this isn’t an act of insanity which hurts no one. Ronaldo tried to hurt players twice, on purpose, just because he felt like retaliating for something. FIFA won’t pull a ‘Suarez’ on him just because this isn’t their jurisdiction. But Ronaldo doesn’t deserve to play in a La Liga match for quite some time.