"¡No es falta! ¡No es falta! He touched me!" Illgner froze when the red card appeared, then stormed toward the referee, shouting and pointing frantically at Ronaldo, who was still on the ground.
His teammates swarmed the official—Redondo and Hierro pleading, Roberto Carlos yelling until the veins on his neck bulged—every Real Madrid player protesting furiously.
But the referee shook his head firmly and gave his explanation:
"Number 1, Illgner, deliberately charged out of his area and collided with number 9, Ronaldo, who was in clear possession and moving directly toward goal. The challenge was reckless, endangered the safety of the opponent, and denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. According to Law 12, this constitutes serious foul play and denial of a goal-scoring opportunity. Therefore, I have shown the red card."
