Navarro has a history of violent conduct but insisted it was a pure accident that he caught Ronaldo during a fiery clash.

"It was an accident, at no time did I try to cause harm to Cristiano Ronaldo," Navarro told Levante's website (www.levanteud.com).

"These are things that happen during a game and I regret having wounded him, but I repeat that it was something completely involuntary."