Ramos rues red card tendencies
Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos feels that he is not one to make dangerous challenges and believes he gets sent off in far too regular a fashion.
By FOX Sports Staff
The Spaniard was speaking after Madrid's 2-0 defeat of Rayo Vallecano in the La Liga on Sunday. Ramos had been sent off after collecting two yellow cards, curtailing his participation in the game after just 18 minutes.
It was also Ramos' 12th red card in the league since moving to Real from Sevilla in 2005.
Ramos feels that his reputation for ill-discipline precedes him and prejudices referees towards making decisions against him.
Speaking to Spanish daily AS, he said: "I am hurt by the situation. It is not normal for me to be sent off within two minutes. I'm not one to come in with hard tackles or to do something evil.
"It's easy to send off Sergio Ramos. It's worrying.
"It hurts me to have left my team-mates disadvantaged and to have forced changes. Spanish football deserves the best referees because we have the biggest players.
"Referees are required to interpret situations. My first card was completely unfair. You cannot leave a team with 10 men for that."
Real assistant coach Aitor Karanka, on the other hand, stated that he was not surprised by the sending-off decision.
"It doesn't surprise us at all," he told reporters after the match.
"We know what has happened before, and we are not surprised at all. It was bad for the match, which had started well for spectators.
"The team played very well, even after the red card. At first, it was very tactical, then much more physical. We are happy because we got all three points."