Cristiano Ronaldo red card an "insult to football" - Italian media
An editorial in the newspaper Tuttosport has called for referee Felix Brych to be dropped by Uefa over his "shameful" display at Mestalla.
The Italian newspaper Tuttosport has called for referee Felix Brych to be dropped by Uefa after his sending-off of Cristiano Ronaldo in Juventus' Champions League win at Valencia on Wednesday night, branding the German's display at Mestalla "shameful".
Ronaldo sent off after clashing with Valencia's Murillo
Making his first appearance back in Spain since his summer move from Real Madrid to Juve, Ronaldo left the field in tears when he was shown a red card by Brych - following consultation with assistant Marco Fritz - after appearing to grab defender Jeison Murillo's hair shortly before the half-hour mark.
Ronaldo's dismissal leaves the Portugal captain set to miss next month's home meeting with Young Boys, while the 33-year-old could potentially also be suspended for one or both of the Serie A champions' subsequent Group H clashes with former club Manchester United.
Punish Brych for "scandalous" showing, says Tuttosport
In an editorial entitled "dedicated to Cristiano Ronaldo", Tuttosport journalist Xavier Jacobelli on Thursday railed against the "scandalous" performance of Brych and Fritz, labelling the pair's decision to give Ronaldo his marching orders a "veritable insult to football".
Jacobelli also rounded on Brych for having "invented" a last-minute penalty awarded to Valencia - which home captain Dani Parejo then missed - concluding that the 43-year-old "should be expelled from the Uefa ranks for his shameful handling of the match".
Pjanic penalties earn 10-man Juve opening victory
Despite playing with 10 men for just over an hour, Juve ran out 2-0 winners in Valencia courtesy of two penalties scored by midfielder Miralem Pjanic.
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