Real Madrid insist Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso were not told to get themselves sent off against Ajax.
Defender feels he could have been spared by referee
Sergio Ramos insists he did not deliberately get sent off against Ajax after Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was left puzzled by the red cards shown to the defender and Xabi Alonso.
Real's impressive 4-0 demolition of Ajax guaranteed top spot in UEFA Champions League Group G, but the win was marred by the late dismissals of Alonso and Ramos.
Alonso was the first to be shown a second yellow card for time-wasting by Scottish referee Craig Thomson before Ramos was sent off for the same offence.
The decisions mean both players will miss the final group game against Auxerre and will ensure Alonso and Ramos do not carry the threat of suspension through to the knock-out phase.
However, Ramos is adamant it was not part of a plan hatched by the Real bench and believes he could have been spared a red card.
Ramos said in
AS: "We haven't gone looking for the cards. Seeing what the scoreline was, the referee could have spared them. But he sent me off and that's it."
Strange
When he was asked about the red cards, Mourinho said: "I spoke with many players throughout the game, not only with Ramos and Alonso. Stories sell, but the important thing is the 4-0 win and the fantastic game we had. Let's talk about that and not other things."
When quizzed on the subject again, Mourinho said: "The sendings-off came after an easy game where the referee has shown some strange yellows. They are cards that I don't like.
"It was an easy game to control. Ajax made a lot of fouls and in the first from Ramos he was shown a yellow card."
The Portuguese coach added: "The red cards we picked up don't matter hugely as we have already qualified ahead of the next game against Auxerre.
"If Ramos and Alonso can't play against Auxerre then there will be others, but we are not going to gift the game to the French. We want to win them all."
