Real Madrid bemoaned the “un-fair” dismissal of Cristiano Ronaldo against Athletic Bilbao as they missed the chance to move above arch rivals Barcelona in the Primera Division standings.

Ronaldo was controversially sent off in the 75th minute of the 1-1 draw at San Mames following an off-the-ball incident involving Bibao captain Carlos Gurpegi.

The Portugal international was pushed by Gurpegi after appealing for a handball in the area and responded by brushing his hand into his rival’s face.

Gurpegi tumbled to the turf and a melee between the teams ensued with Ronaldo confronted by midfielder Ander Iturraspe, who clearly pushed his head into the Madrid player’s face.

Iturraspe ended up with a yellow card while Ronaldo was shown a straight red card – something his team-mates believe was undeserved.

Real defender Marcelo said on his club’s official website: “It’s tough to lose a player in an unfair way.

“The sending-off of Cristiano wasn’t fair, although I’m not going to talk about whether the referee had a good match or not.”

Midfielder Xabi Alonso added: “It wasn’t aggression, the red to Cristiano Ronaldo is excessive. Gurpegi helped a lot and the referee was affected by the reaction of the fans throughout the match.

“That always happens here, it’s nothing new.”

Ronaldo’s red came moments after Athletic Bibao had equalised through Ibai Gomez’s piledriver after Real had taken a 65th-minute lead through Jese.

The result left Real in third place in the standings, level on 54 points with defending champions Barce-lona who were surprisingly beaten at home by Valencia on Saturday, with new leaders Atletico Madrid now three points clear.