Monaco forward Radamel Falcao has said that Cristiano Ronaldo's ban is "totally unjustified" after the Portugese received a red card against Athletic Bilbao.
Ronaldo was hit with a three-match ban after squaring up to Bilbao duo Carlos Gurpegui and Ander Iturraspe.
Falcao told AS: "I think that it's a totally unjustified ban. Everyone in the world of football without exception knows that Ronaldo did nothing.
"Now, with this measure, there is no difference between the player who does nothing and one that throws a real punch. The offence will be the same because the punishment is the same.
"Compared to some other provocative attitudes among players, what Cristiano did was nothing."
Madrid's appeal against the ban was rejected on Friday.
