Wales vs Portugal: Welsh fan starts petition to call on Uefa to let Aaron Ramsey play in Euro 2016 semi-final

Ramsey will miss the biggest match in Welsh football history after being booked in the quarter-final win over Belgium

Aaron Ramsey will miss the Euro 2016 semi-final after picking up two yellow cards (Getty)

A petition has been started to try and persuade Uefa to let Aaron Ramsey play in Wales’s most important match in their history after he was suspended for the Euro 2016 semi-final with Portugal, with more than 5,000 people signing it.

The Arsenal midfielder picked up his second yellow card of the tournament when he deliberately handballed during the quarter-final victory over Belgium in order to halt a counter-attack when Wales were leading 2-1, meaning he will miss the semi-final through suspension.

Uefa’s decision not to wipe off bookings after the group stage has already been criticised during this tournament with a number of players having to serve suspensions, and both Ramsey and his Wales team-mate, left-back Ben Davies, will become the latest to sit out what could potentially be the biggest game of their careers.

In an attempt to spare Ramsey’s heartache, Wales supporter Joe Williams has set-up a petition calling on Uefa to allow the 25-year-old to play in Wednesday’s semi-final.

The petition – which will be sent to the Football Association of Wales and Fifa as well as Uefa – claims that Ramsey does not deserve to be suspended for the encounter with Portugal, despite clearly handling the ball to stop a Belgium breakaway.

“This petition is for the yellow card unjustly given to Welsh footballer Aaron Ramsey to be overturned by the European football governing body Uefa, in order to allow him to play in the Uefa Euro 2016 Semi-Final Wales v Portugal 6th July 2016,” the petition reads.

At time of writing, the petition had attracted more than 5,500 signatures, although the chances of Uefa overturning the suspension are about as likely as Wales winning the Euros…