Tag: Club World Cup

Referee experiments with not sending off Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid win Club World Cup

It turns out keeping 11 men on the pitch can really help a team avoid a major upset

(Real Madrid/Twitter)

Real Madrid likely thought that their Club World Cup final against local side Kashima Antlers was just a formality, especially after Karim Benzema opened the scoring in the ninth minute. But then Kashima struck back, scoring on either side of halftime to take a 2–1 lead. Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot in the 60th minute and with the score still 2–2 near the end of regulation time Sergio Ramos happened.

Now, at this stage in a match, this can mean one of two things: Either he scored a decisive goal or Real Madrid’s all-time leader in red cards added to his total. Already on a yellow, Ramos appeared to have earned a second to put his side at a disadvantage for extra time. The referee reached into his pocket, but he pulled out nothing. Ramos stayed on the pitch and Cristiano scored twice more in extra time to complete his hat trick and give Real madrid their second Club World Cup title.

After the match, Ramos and Ronaldo appeared to joke about the ref’s pocket fake out.

https://streamable.com/lzial

Perhaps the ref was just curious to see what would happen if he didn’t eject Ramos. How many bookable offenses could be rack up in a single match? After all, it was only the Club World Cup and they were already experimenting with video technology, so why not experiment with a Sergio Ramos behavior challenge, too?

Zidane ended up substituting Ramos in the 108th minute, as he probably didn’t want to test his luck any further. And in the end, Goliath beat David with a bit of help from the referee, then had a hearty laugh. After all, Leicester City already did the underdog thing this year, so letting that happen again would just be a little too cliche.

(Real Madrid/Twitter)


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Sergio Ramos claims Real Madrid are “God’s team,” Zlatan likely disagrees

Though Real Madrid might appear to be overwhelming favorites to beat San Lorenzo in the Club World Cup final, the South American champions seem to have divine intervention on their side. Ever since San Lorenzo supporter Jorge Bergoglio became Pope Francis, they can’t stop winning trophies. First they won Argentina’s Primeria Division, then they won Copa Libertadores for the first time in the club’s history.

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Club World Cup groundskeepers attempt to dry flooded pitch with large sponges

The Club World Cup quarterfinal between Cruz Azul and Wester Sydney Wanderers was played on a swampy pitch in Rabat, Morocco. In fact, it was so bad that the groundskeepers at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium broke out the giant sponges and buckets in futile attempt to sop up the lake that had overtaken the playing surface.

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