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Football

21st Mar 2019

Cristiano Ronaldo fined for mimicking Diego Simeone’s crotch grab celebration

Marc Mayo

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.

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.

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.