Expert Blogs

One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, even in football.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo is a criminal; Cristiano Ronaldo is the victim of crime.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo is arrogant; Cristiano Ronaldo is an honest, humble guy who just wants to play football.

 

People need protection from Cristiano Ronaldo; Cristiano Ronaldo needs protection from them.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo is a winner; Cristiano Ronaldo is a whiner.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo did it deliberately; Cristiano Ronaldo did it by accident ... in fact, Cristiano Ronaldo didn't do it at all.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo is a provocateur; Cristiano Ronaldo was provoked.

 

It was classic Cristiano Ronaldo; it was out of character for Cristiano Ronaldo - he's never done anything like this before ...  in fact, he didn't do what you saw him do this time, either.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off.

 

Rightly.

 

Wrongly.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo's two-match ban is a scandal.  

 

It should never be that long.

 

It should never be that short.

 

Messi did it, too.

 

No he didn't.

 

Yes, he did.

 

No he didn't. And he never would do anything like that.

 

It was all the refs' fault. For not blowing sooner. For getting it wrong.

 

It was all Patrick Mtiliga's fault.

 

For being short.

 

"It was the nose's fault", said one Malaga player privately, exasperatedly.

 

"It was the nose's fault", said he. "It was the nose's fault," said it all.

 

One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. An angel or a demon, depending who you believe. An angel or a demon depending on what you want to believe; depending on what they believe. What they want you to believe.

 

It's not what you do, it's who you are. Black is white if the perpetrator is right; white is black if the victim is. It's the colour of the shirt that counts.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off Sunday against Malaga when he swung a forearm into the face of Patrick Mtiliga. Mtiliga was grabbing his shirt, holding him back. He had just let go when Ronaldo's forearm crashed into his nose, breaking it. Referee Perez Lasa had no doubts at all, taking out the red card. Ronaldo sunk to his knees, put his head in his hands, and bit his lip. He looked like he might cry. As he went off, the stadium applauded him.

 

But everyone who saw it agreed with the decision. It was a clear red card. Sure, there were extenuating factors, but it was obvious. At least they agreed with the decision until after the game, when it occurred to them that there might be a way to not agree with it, a way to make it go the way they wanted it to go, a way to repackage it.

 

A way to suit their agenda.

 

They reluctantly agreed with the decision until they were shown the way.

 

Real Madrid's director general Jorge Valdano said Ronaldo had just wanted to carry on. The Spanish league needs to adapt to Ronaldo, he said. Players like Ronaldo need to be protected, he said.

 

"Anyone who knows about football knows it was not a red card," Ronaldo added.

 

"I learnt in England never to dive and to try to carry on always", he added. "If he was not such a small boy, I would have got him in the chest," he added.

 

Which would have been fine.

 

But he isn't and he didn't. Mtiliga has a broken nose. And two black eyes.

 

"But he didn't kill anyone," says the editorial in Marca, a top Spanish sports daily.

 

Real Madrid, the self-proclaimed, much lauded, "gentleman of a club", that never cries, never complains, never talks about referees. The club that is above all that.  Real Madrid, the club senor. No apology. No hands up. No accepting of the punishment. 

 

No class.

 

Ronaldo; terrorist or freedom fighter. 

 

"Provocative, arrogant, and aggressive," said Sport, another top sports daily in Spain.

 

Which just happens to be a Catalan sport newspaper.

 

"An assault", said El Mundo Deportivo, which just happens to be a Catalan sport newspaper.

 

"Ronaldo: I just want to play football", said Marca, which just happens to be a Madrid based sport newspaper.

 

"This is the Villarato," said AS, which just happens to be a Madrid based sport newspaper.

 

"They let Messi do it, but not Ronaldo," AS continues, alongside photographs of an incident they claim is exactly the same from the Barcelona-Sevilla game. "If Messi does it, it's not a sending off."

 

The "Villarato" is what AS have dubbed the conspiracy - led by the referees and the Football Federation - to sink Real Madrid, a systematic campaign against the club from the capital.

 

The disciplinary committee consider events. They decide to ban Ronaldo for two games. Madrid will appeal.

 

"Unjust," says Marca. "Not fair," says AS.

 

"Unjust," says Sport. "Not fair," says El Mundo Deportivo.

 

It is, they agree, a scandal.

 

Scandalously short, say Sport, El Mundo Deportivo.

 

Scandalously long, say Marca, AS.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo is a criminal. Cristiano Ronaldo is a victim of crime.

 

And they say the referees are bent. They say the committees are bent.

 

Who's bent?

 

One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, even in football.