On the eve of British bonfire night the scene was set for a major fireworks display in Spain. Las Palmas and Celta, the two teams with the worst disciplinary records last season, met at the Insular stadium with the white stick award winner from two years ago Llonch Andreu in charge, an explosive combination if ever there was one. Both sides had been on best behaviour this season, with not one player between them in the top villains chart at this stage in the competition. However all that was to change on the night, with the Catalan ref sending off two Celta players and producing ten yellow cards in all. The first to go was Sergio (his second red card of the season) who was sent off for a hard tackle on a Las Palmas forward only twenty minutes after coming on for the injured Berizzo. Then with the game coming to an end Luccin picked up a second yellow to leave his side with nine men. Both will at least miss their next match, as will the home side's Samways and Nacho González, who both picked up their fifth yellow cards in Llonch's tally.

Two more sendings off as well this weekend, Bilbao's Felipe Gurendez and Betis's Varela. Felipe got his marching orders for a second bookable offence in the local derby between Bilbao and Alavés, a fixture which usually produces a red card or two. In fact Felipe was one of four players sent off last season as well by theatrical referee Prados García (sadly now retired), and having been hit twice maybe next year he will feign an injury or two to avoid being picked for the game. Varela was sent off at the end of the fixture between Betis and Zaragoza, also for a second yellow, having only just returned from a one match suspension for accumulating five yellows. As a result he tops our chart this week.

Other players who picked up ther fifth yellows this week include Pablo (Alavés), Lopo (Espanyol), Olaizola (Mallorca), López Rekarte (Real Sociedad) and Ayala (Valencia). Ayala will be away anyway on international duty together with Argentina team mates Kily González and Aimar, so he won't be too worried about the suspension. Incidentally FIFA's decision to allow the internationals to play this weekend before joining their squads caught Málaga's Darío Silva and Valladolid's Peña with their proverbial trousers down. Both had forced a fifth yellow in their respective matches last week in order to serve out the ban while they were away (Darío's was blatant, refusing to leave the field when substituted until he was booked), and in the end both could have played. To top it all Málaga lost and replacement Canabal missed some easy chances. Poetic justice really. (05.11.01)