SERGIO RAMOS could face a €1billion lawsuit for his apparent attack on Mo Salah in the Champions League final on Saturday.
The Real Madrid captain, sent off 24 times in his career but not even booked against Liverpool, is the subject of an eye-popping £873m action from an Egyptian lawyer for the tackle which ended Salah’s night.
Bassem Wahba is suing the centre-back for what he saw as intentionally locking Salah’s arm under his and vaulting him to the floor, putting the Reds’ hero’s World Cup in doubt.
Speaking on the Sada El-Balad channel, Wahba said: “Ramos intentionally injured Mo Salah and should be punished about his actions.
“I’ve filed a lawsuit and a complaint to FIFA.
“I’ll ask for compensation, which could exceed €1billion, for the physical and psychological harm that Ramos gave Salah and the Egyptian people.”
Ramos even faced condemnation from the European Judo Union, who claimed his arm lock and throw is illegal even inside a dojo.
They wrote: “Waki-gatame is a dangerous technique. That’s why it’s not allowed in Judo to use for transition to ne-waza.”
The record-breaking striker is more than just a footballer in his homeland, achieving cult status after scoring the penalty that sent the Pharoahs back to the World Cup after 28 years away.
In this year’s presidential elections, more than a million Egyptians voted for him – despite the fact he was not standing for the position.
But the injury suffered in Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to Real has rocked Egypt’s preparations for the World Cup, with club boss Jurgen Klopp pessimistic about Salah’s chances after suffering suspected ligament damage to his shoulder.
Egypt will face Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and hosts Russia in Group A, and are desperate for Salah to recover in time after scoring 44 goals in his debut season at Anfield.
Liverpool fans also showed their outrage towards Ramos, whose 19th career La Liga red card in December broke the competition record.
More than 400,000 furious Reds signed a petition for Uefa and Fifa to punish Ramos for “intentionally hurting” Salah.
The petition, listed on change.org, claims that Ramos “represents an awful example to future generations of football players.
It adds: “Instead of winning matches fairly, he uses tricks that defy the spirit of the game and fair play.”
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Real claimed their third consecutive European Cup triumph – and 13th in all – in Kiev, led by substitute Gareth Bale’s stunning overhead kick and an error-strewn display from Loris Karius.
Liverpool more than matched their opponents until Salah was forced off by Ramos’ challenge, having nine shots in the 31 minutes the Egyptian was on.
After Salah was replaced by Adam Lallana Liverpool visibly lost momentum, registering just four attempts afterwards.
Despite a Sadio Mane equaliser cancelling out Karim Benzema’s fortuitous opener, Bale’s wonder strike and another keeping error gave the Welshman a second and Real yet another trophy.
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