Katia Aveiro has jumped to the defence of her sibling after he was left distraught by the first sending off in his long Champions League career
The sister of Cristiano Ronaldo has launched a furious attack on her brother’s critics following Wednesday’s red card, accusing them of trying to destroy him while promising that justice will be served.
Ronaldo’s European bow in Juventus colours turned into a nightmare against Valencia when he received his marching orders after just 29 minutes.
The striker was sanctioned for grabbing Jeison Murillo’s hair while the Colombian defender was on the floor, having previously fallen after a clash with Cristiano.
Cristiano was left visibly distressed by the red card, his first in the Champions League, at first collapsing into a heap on the floor before leaving the Mestalla pitch in tears.
He was forced to watch the rest of the match from the dressing room, as Juventus triumphed 2-0 thanks to two penalties converted by Miralem Pjanic in the absence of the spot-kick specialist.
Ronaldo now faces a ban from the Champions League group stage, but his sister believes he will bounce back as she turned her ire onto the Portuguese forward’s critics.
“Football’s shame… justice will be served,” Katia Aveiro fired in a post published on her Instagram account.
“They want to destroy my brother but God never rests. Shameful.”
Ronaldo’s first opportunity to redeem himself after the red card will come on Sunday, when Juventus visit Frosinone in Serie A.
After drawing three blanks in the Italian top flight the ex-Real Madrid man finally broke his duck last weekend, scoring twice to mastermind a 2-1 win over Sassuolo that keeps the Bianconeri at the Serie A summit with a perfect record so far.