Allegri calls for VAR after Ronaldo's contentious red card

Cristiano Ronaldo's red card against Valencia led to Massimiliano Allegri softening his position on technology in football.

Published : Sep 20, 2018 07:54 IST

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri endorsed the introduction of VAR to the Champions League following Cristiano Ronaldo's contentious sending off against Valencia.

Ronaldo's first European appearance for his new club ended in tears as he was dismissed inside half an hour of the eventual 2-0 win at Mestalla.

The 33-year-old appeared to pull Valencia defender Jeison Murillo's hair in an off-the-ball incident and was shown a straight red by Felix Brych.

Allegri has previously been opposed to the implementation of the technology, arguing it should not be used for subjective decisions.

However, with Ronaldo set to miss next month's home meeting with Young Boys and potentially the subsequent trip to former club Manchester United, the Bianconeri boss adopted a different stance.

"I can only say that VAR would have helped the referee in this decision," Allegri told reporters.

"It is disappointing because we will lose an important player for at least a match."

Read Match Report : Valencia 0-2 Juventus

Juve, twice finalist in the past four seasons, recovered from the loss of its star off-season signing to bank three valuable points thanks to Miralem Pjanic's twin penalties.

Allegri praised his side's composure amid a heated atmosphere.

"We were playing very well until Ronaldo's sending off but we continued to play our football despite that blow and deservedly scored two goals," he said.

"Playing here was not easy because Valencia attack with this stadium supporting them from the first to the last minute.

"I think the lads did very well, especially because they played good football when we had to do that. We all pulled together as a team when it was the moment to defend these three points."

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