Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos backtracks on deliberate booking comments
Ramos says his comments were misinterpreted after Madrid beat Ajax 2-1
The yellow card Sergio Ramos picked up against Ajax contunues to give headlines. The Real Madrid defender has offered his version of events in an interview with Marca.
In the 88th minute of the game, with Madrid winning 2-1, Ramos deliberately took out home team striker Dolberg. Yellow card. In the mixed zone, Ramos suggested he picked the card up on purpose to miss the second leg through suspension -- thus 'cleaning' his record for a potential quarterfinal tie.
Dani Carvajal was given an additional one-game ban when found guilty of the same offence last season and UEFA have opened an investigation into Ramos's booking.
But Ramos says he was misinterpreted: "I was referring to giving the foul away, a foul which was inevitable, not forcing the suspension.
"It was a dangerous counter-attack in the 88th minute, with the game and the tie open. That's why I said I would be lying if I said I didn't know it would end up with a ban, the same way I knew I had no option but to give the foul away.
"That's what I was referring to when I said in football you have to take complicated decisions sometimes.
"[If I wanted to force a ban] I could have done it in the group stages, in the game against Roma because we were already through as group winners and the last game against CSKA wasn't important -- a game I wasn't called up for."
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