Cristiano Ronaldo fined for mimicking Diego Simeone's crotch grab celebration
Ajax will be pleased to hear that he's escaped a ban
UEFA have chosen to fine Cristiano Ronaldo for a lewd gesture he made in celebrating Juventus' 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
It was the Portuguese forward who bagged a decisive hat-trick in the last-16 second leg, overturning Atletico's 2-0 win in the Spanish capital a fortnight earlier.
The initial victory was enjoyed so much by coach Diego Simeone that he turned to the stands and grabbed his crotch to show off his cojones. UEFA took a dim view of the incident and fined the Argentine €20,000.
Ronaldo clearly noticed the gesture and, after knocking out Atletico in Turin, he performed his own triumphant grab - only to be charged with improper conduct.
New goal celebration from Cristiano Ronaldo 😂😂😂#JuveAtletico #JuveAtleti #UCL pic.twitter.com/YGgcE5c9N9
— NICKO . ✪ (@RonalGinho10) March 12, 2019
On Thursday, UEFA fined Ronaldo the same amount as Simeone, €20,000, after finding him guilty of improper conduct.
It means the striker avoids a ban and is free to face Ajax in the upcoming quarter-finals. That tie kicks off on April 10 in Amsterdam.
This, too, is the beautiful game. #Cholo pic.twitter.com/IbhvELJf11
— elliot ross (@elliot__ross) February 20, 2019
However they followed up their victory over Atletico with a 2-0 defeat to Genoa last Sunday, a match which Ronaldo was rested for as Juve's lead atop Serie A was cut to a mere 15 points.
