Referee Claims Red Card for Ronaldo Led to Two-Year Real Madrid Ban

Former Spanish referee Xavier Estrada Fernandez has claimed that a red card issued to Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 kept him from officiating Real Madrid matches for two years.He accused the then-Head of the referees’ committee, Sánchez Arminio, of initiating the ban by calling him soon after the match.

Speaking on his YouTube channel earlier this year, Fernandez said that referees are controlled by officials off the pitch, calling it the dark side of football.He added that the red card becoming the headlines was not appreciated by Arminio and said (via BarcaTimes):

“When I sent Cristiano ronaldo off in 2009, I went almost two years without refereeing Real Madrid matches. After that match when I got home, I received a call from the Head of the referees’ committee, Sánchez Arminio, about literally just 10 minutes after I entered my house.”

“He told me he didn’t like what had happened, that the incident would be on the front page of every national sports newspaper, and he hinted that there would be consequesnces. There is a dark side of football that is unknown, or that people don’t want to know, and there are those who exploit it for other purposes.”

Cristiano Ronaldo was given the marching orders by Fernandez in the league game after he kicked out at Almeria’s José Ortiz following a tackle. It was the Portuguese superstar’s first red card since moving to Real madrid,where he finished wiht five more sending-offs before leaving in 2018.

cristiano Ronaldo got sent off for Portugal for the first time in 2025

Cristiano Ronaldo had 13 red cards in his club career, but had a clean slate when it came to the nation