Emre Can Accused of Sexism After Cristiano Ronaldo Red Card Defence

Emre Can was one of many Juventus players who came to the defence of team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo after he was sent off against Valencia on Wednesday, but he was accused of sexism after his comments and later apologised.

As reported by MailOnline's Matt Porter, the Germany international spoke to DAZN and said he disagreed with the decision to send him off.

He then said the players on the pitch "are not women": "That's supposed to be a red? I just heard he said it was because of hair pulling. We're not women, we're playing football. If you're going to give a red for that, you can give a red for anything. It was 100 per cent not a red card."

Can was criticised for his comments by DW Sports:

The player released a statement to apologise:

Ronaldo was sent off in the first half of the 2-0 UEFA Champions League win over Valencia for perceived violent conduct against Jeison Murillo. Miralem Pjanic converted two penalties for the Bianconeri to give them the win and three crucial points.

The sending off was the major talking point after the match. Speaking to Juventus' official website (h/t Goal's Dejan Kalinic), Pjanic labelled the decision as "absurd":

"Football is a strange game. We could have been 4-0 up after the opening period, then came that absurd sending off.

"It was like the Lyon game [in 2016]. We dug deep and found the spirit we needed to take us all the way to the final.

"That's what we need to do again."

In an interview with Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia), manager Massimiliano Allegri advocated the use of video replay, a system that is already in use in Italy.

As Rob Harris of the Associated Press shared, Ronaldo will learn what type of suspension he'll face on Thursday of next week:

Juventus' next Champions League outing will be at home against Young Boys, and unless the red card is rescinded, he will be suspended for that match.

The bigger question is whether UEFA will treat it as a serious offence, with the double-header against Manchester United in store after.