Oscar Téllez must be gob-smacked. I mean, there he was all lined up to win our top villains award for the third year running. A late run had put him within three points of the leaders, and he only needed a good sending off to move to the top of the chart. Everything was set, and when super-flea Víctor Salas burst through looking for his hat-trick here was his chance. Bamm! In went the tackle, and his Alavés team mate Pablo closed in from the other side to complete the sandwich. But to his horror referee Puentes Leira got the wrong man and sent off Pablo, who to add insult to injury (well, Víctor's injury) was level with the central defender on baddy-points and shoots to first place in the table. Is there no justice?

Gob-smacked as well were Bilbao's Urzaiz and Rayo's Hernández, but in their case literally and not metaphorically speaking. Both were sent off for fighting as tempers frayed in their match near the end. Valencia's Carboni (a veteran villain that one) was a gob-smackee, or rather a gob-elbowee (getting a bit obtuse here - Ed.) when he took out Espanyol's De Lucas to leave his side with ten men for the last hour of the match. At 37 years old he should have known better.

Two more sendings off as well this weekend making six in all, but neither of the last two were justified. Mallorca's Leo Franco was not-really-the-gob, more-the-lug'ole smacked (that's enough now - Ed.) when he was red carded for pushing over Betis striker Joao Tomas. In fact Tomas made a real meal of it, and he should probably have been the one booked for obstructing the keeper and/or for diving, but this time the referee fell for it. The decision could have cost Mallorca their place in the first division. The other red was for Naybet, who picked up a second caution late in the game against Málaga. His tackle appeared to be perfectly good and he came away with the ball, so it should not have even been a foul. Maybe though he said something he shouldn't have to the referee.

The usual crop as well of players suspended for the next to the last games of the season. Those include (10 yellow card threshold) Rotchen (Espanyol), Miguel Angel (Málaga), Puñal (Osasuna) and De Quintana (Rayo), and (5 card threshold) Karmona (Alavés), Sarasúa (Las Palmas), Gerardo (Málaga), Bolic (Rayo) and Campano and Carlos (Mallorca). (29.04.02)

PS. The disciplinary committee logically cancelled the red card given to Leo Franco for the supposed foul on Joao Tomas. It was little consolation for Sergio Kresic though, who was fired after his team lost that game. (02.05.02)