Cristiano Ronaldo defended Gonzalo Higuain after the striker's red card during AC Milan's 2-0 home defeat to Juventus in Serie A.
Higuain endured a personal nightmare against his parent club, seeing a penalty saved and being dismissed late on at San Siro on Sunday.
The Argentina attacker had to be led off the field after a meltdown following referee Paolo Mazzoleni's decision to send him off.
But Ronaldo, who scored the second goal in Juve's victory over the Rossoneri, said Higuain should not be punished too heavily.
"I told him to calm down, as he risked an even worse ban," Ronaldo said to Sky Sport Italia.