Cristiano Ronaldo has slammed the La Liga for rejecting his five match ban appeal, describing the decision as a “persecution”.

The 32-year-old Portuguese legend was handed a five-match ban after Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Barcelona at Camp Nou on Sunday, one-match ban for the sending off, then a further four-match ban for pushing referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea before walking off the pitch.

Expressing his misgivings about the failed appeal, Ronaldo posted on his Instagram page: “It seems to me exaggerated and ridiculous, this is called persecution.”

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, who will not play in the La Liga until 20 September against Real Betis, was also fined €3,005 while Real Madrid got €1,400 fine.

Matches Cristiano Ronaldo will miss:

Barcelona – Spanish Super Cup (August 16)

Deportivo La Coruna – La Liga (August 20)

Valencia – La Liga (August 27)

Levante – La Liga (September 9)

Real Sociedad – La Liga (September 17)