Tuesday 27 January 2015 21:19, UK
Cristiano Ronaldo is surrounded by "hysteria" in Spain but we must remember he is only human, according to Graham Hunter.
The Ballon d'Or winner was shown a straight red card in the 84th minute for kicking out at Edimar during Real Madrid's 2-1 win at Cordoba on Saturday.
Ronaldo, who could have been dismissed minutes earlier after punching defender Ivan Crespo only for the incident to go unnoticed by referee Alejandro Hernandez, took to Twitter after the match to say sorry.
But Hunter, speaking on Revista de La Liga, insists the action came from frustration.
"In Spain there's hysteria about his actions, hysteria about the way he goes off, particularly in the media but also from the fans.
"The thing is we can't have it every way. We sit here every week saying he's incredible, the standards, how often he produces, we've never seen anything like it.
"And when it goes a little bit off kilter there's bound to be frustration."
Since returning from the winter break, Real have won three, lost two and drawn one of their six games, but haven't played to the standards they were producing before Christmas.
Terry Gibson agrees that Ronaldo is frustrated, and reiterated that it is a human trait, despite Ronaldo being a "machine" at times.
"He's human," Gibson told Revista de La Liga. "He's human, we forget that, because he's also a machine. He has this moments in him.
"There's no explanation for him, other than it's a bad day in the office, not getting involved in play.
"There's also that frustration that he knows he is a mile above in terms of quality to the opposition, and it's not happening for him."
Real's players have played more minutes than any other club in Europe at this point (2,379 on average per player), ahead of Chelsea (2,287), Atletico Madrid (2,147) and Barcelona (1,799), and the Revista team believe it could be time for Carlo Ancelotti to rotate the squad.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique was criticised for resting Neymar and Lionel Messi for the 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad earlier this month, but Ancelotti must pick his time perfectly, according to Gibson.
Gibson added: "There are players at Real Madrid who should get more playing time. It goes back to Luis Enrique making the wrong changes in the game against Real Sociedad. Ancelotti has to pick those games.
"It's going to be very difficult to leave the likes of Ronaldo out, as with Messi.
"But Real Madrid need to dynamic, sharp, bright of mind, and if you're overplayed that might be a consequence of how the performances are of late.
Watch Sevilla v Espanyol and Barcelona v Villarreal on Sky Sports 5 this Sunday, before Real Madrid v Sevilla on Wednesday, February 4.
