The world might have been accustomed in seeing Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo banging in goals for the club, irrespective of the competition, but with the game evenly poised on 1-1 against La Liga team Cordoba, the Portugal figure lost his nerves for a jiffy and was shown red instantly by the referee in the 82nd minute of the game.
The moment of madness took place when the ball was crossed in high from the left to Ronaldo, but amidst the crowd of players, he could not control the ball, as he was tightly marked, hence the player kicked his opponent on his leg and also used his hands against another player, which has always been against spirit of the game.
Deservedly, Ronaldo was not only shown the red card, but would also miss matches against Real Sociedad, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.
The Triple Ballon D'Or winner had been a frustrated player with Madrid not putting up a good performance against such a struggling team in the La Liga and he himself was lost in the match, where he more or less looked absent.
When Ronaldo left the game, the scores were level, but in absence of their prolific Portuguese goal scorer, Gareth Bale stepped up to strike a penalty home to help them gain three crucial points.
The team, which boasts of huge depth in the squad, should not face many problems, provided other players fill in Ronaldo's role, which may only be for a few matches.
Gareth Bale is confident the team can cope without him.
"We have a big squad and the team has played games without him before and done well,'' said Bale, as quoted by AFP.
Carlo Ancelotti's men are a point clear of Barcelona with one game in hand.
Ronaldo understood that he should not have reacted in such a manner, which got him sent off for the ninth time in his career. Later, he apologised on Twitter in Portuguese.
Pido disculpas a todos y especialmente a Edimar por mi acto irreflexivo en el partido de hoy.
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) January 24, 2015
It translates to "I'm sorry for my impulsive action today and ask for forgiveness especially of Edimar"
Though, the player might have apologised, such turn of events does not do well for his fans all around the world who idolise him.
Keeping the incident aside, Ronaldo has been phenomenal this season scoring 28 goals in 18 La Liga appearances.
