Report: Cristiano Ronaldo Set to Be Available for Man United Return Despite Red Card
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to be available for Juventus' Champions League doubleheader against Manchester United, with UEFA unlikely to impose further punishment for his red card against Valencia.
A tearful Ronaldo, making his Champions League debut for his new club, was sent off in the first half at the Mestalla for an innocuous scuffle with Jeison Murillo.
With UEFA not operating an appeals system like the one in the Premier League, Ronaldo was automatically punished with a one-match ban, ruling him out of Juventus' home match against Young Boys in two weeks' time.
It was feared that Ronaldo could be banned for more than one match if the incident was deemed to be violent conduct. This would have ruled him out of Juventus' visit to Ronaldo's former club Manchester United on matchday 3.
However, the Mirror reports that UEFA sources have intimated there will be no additional punishment for Ronaldo and he will only serve a one-game suspension before returning for the emotional visit to Old Trafford on October 23.
The outcome of disciplinary proceedings against Ronaldo will not be officially known until UEFA's control, ethics and disciplinary panel meets next Thursday.
According to the sources, disciplinary officials have already viewed television footage of the incident and do not consider it as worthy of increased punishment, even though Ronaldo took a long time to leave the pitch.
Miralem Pjanic scored two penalties, one either side of halftime, to give the 10 men a 2-0 victory.
