Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo feels 'persecuted' after ban was upheld

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed that he feels 'persecuted' after his five-match ban was upheld.

The Spanish Football Federation opted against scrapping the suspension, which was issued to the four-time Ballon d'Or winner after Madrid's first-leg victory over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.

Ronaldo was hit with an automatic one-match ban when he was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for diving in the penalty box.

The length of the suspension was extended due to the prolific Portuguese attacker shoving the referee in the back in frustration at getting sent off late into the second half at Camp Nou.

Ronaldo has made his feelings on the ruling clear, as he took to Instagram to write: "Impossible to be unaffected by this situation, 5 games!! It seems exaggerated and ridiculous, this is called persecution! Thanks to my teammates for the support and the fans!!!"

Impossível ficar imune a esta situação, 5 jogos!! Parece-me exagerado e ridículo, isto chama-se perseguição! Obrigado aos meus companheiros pelo apoio e aos adeptos!!!

A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) on Aug 16, 2017 at 9:19am PDT

Ronaldo will miss this evening's second leg at the Bernabeu, as well as La Liga games against Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia, Levante and Real Sociedad.