Three
players sent off this week, including two of our top villains. Last year's
nutter-of-the-season Juanfran got his marching orders from the league's most
lenient referee García-Aranda for a rather silly second bookable
offence, kicking the ball away in the last minute with his team one goal ahead.
It was typical Juanfran, a brilliant player who even got a game or two for the
national side last season, but who's brain sometimes lets him down. It was the
second time he has been sent off this season, and he left his team with ten men
for the vital few minutes. Luckily for him Osasuna didn't score. Keita moves up
into our table after getting himself sent off for a horrendous tackle on
Numancia's Manel near the end of the game. It was totally unnecessary, with his
side three goals up and four minutes to play. The other player to be sent for
an early bath was Valladolid's Fernando Sales, who got a second caution from
Prados García near the end. Javi Moreno (Alavés), Edu Alonso (Las
Palmas, and Angloma (we think) and Albelda (both Valencia) picked up their
fifth yellow cards and should all miss the next game. Update: Angloma
didn't, but Téllez (Alavés), Velasco and Gustavo López
(Celta), Ballesteros (Rayo) and Xavi Roca (Villarreal) were all suspended as
well.
There was some fallout
from last week's decisions, with Oskar Vales being let off a suspension after
the appeal committee recognised that a pat on the cheek is not akin to grievous
bodily harm, and Eto'o got a one match ban as expected for making a very
unpleasant suggestion to the fourth official (three times, apparently).
Djalminha is still determined to take his case to court, but his manager
Irureta difused the situation by refusing to call him up for the last match
which meant he would serve the second of his two match ban anyway. The story
still goes on though. An investigation was also launched by the disciplinary
committee into the Ayala case, and Valencia, Barça and the referee have
been asked to submit evidence. Barça's president Juan Gaspart was
reluctant to do so last week in case Ayala got suspended and missed the game
against Real Madrid, and he even suggested that Ayala would be banned anyway by
the Madrid based committee to favour the team from the capital. Talk about
paranoia! (29.01.01) |
