Source:REUTERS/Stringer
[Saba Sports News] Recently, former La Liga referee Javier Estrada Fernández recounted an incident related to officiating Real Madrid. Estrada Fernández recalled the punishment he faced after sending off a Real Madrid player: “After I sent off Cristiano Ronaldo, the match supervisor told me, ‘Kid, you officiated a good match.’ When I got home, I received a call from Sánchez-Arminio (chairman of the refereeing committee), who clearly expressed his disapproval of that decision. He also reminded me to check the national sports newspapers, implying that I would pay the price for it. At the time, I honestly reported the incident, but I did not get the chance to officiate a Real Madrid match again for two whole years.”
The incident referenced by the referee occurred during the 2009-10 season’s 13th round, when Real Madrid played against Almería at home. On that day, Ronaldo was sent off near the end of the match for receiving two yellow cards: one for celebrating a goal by taking off his shirt, and the other for a tackle on Juan Ortiz. The Portuguese star was suspended for one match, while Estrada Fernández did not officiate any more Real Madrid matches for the remainder of the season, and he did not set foot in the Bernabéu stadium for three years.