Sergio Ramos might have earned himself a week off with his latest act of shithousery. In the final minutes of Real Madrid’s match against Girona, Ramos and Girona’s Pedro Alcalá both went for a ball in the air that Casemiro headed into the middle of the penalty box. Alcalá tried to use his head to make contact with the ball while Ramos went for a flashy bicycle kick to hit the ball towards the net. The Spanish defender instead appeared to make contact with the Girona player’s head with his boot, forcing the referee to give Ramos his second yellow card of the day.
Replays later showed that Ramos’s Ira Newble impression was only slightly off from the original as it didn’t look like he made any contact with Alcalá’s face at all. Still, the referee stuck with what he thought he saw and sent Ramos off.
Now, did the Girona player have to writhe on the grass like his face was broken in half? No. Would the referee had stopped play had there not been even a little bit of embellishment? Also no. The decision to go up like that in a crowded box is a bit cynical, and a dangerous play like that objectively deserves a yellow card. It also doesn’t hurt that Ramos’s reputation likely played a hand in forming what the referee believes happened.
That was the 20th red card of Ramos’s career in La Liga, giving him sole possession of the top spot not only in the Spanish league’s history, but also the record for most red cards in all major European leagues, per AS.com. This foul comes just days after the defender earned his third yellow card in Champions League play—a move currently under investigation to see if Ramos got the yellow card on purpose—which gives him a one-game suspension in that competition.
Whether you think Ramos is a leader of men that is always able to come up big when it matters most for Real Madrid, or that he’s a dirty player who deserves every punishment he gets, you have to admit that earning a record and an extended vacation all in one fell swoop is an impressive hustle.