The law finally caught up with Baraja this week. The Valencia midfielder had had a one match ban put on hold after being sent off for a second bookable offence way back in week 7 in October, and a mere four months later the superior disciplinary body (CEDD) finally made their ruling (as they say in Spain, en el palacio, todo va despacio). And even though they cancelled the second yellow card, the first one from that game (which was also on hold pending the outcome) then came into play, taking his total accumulated bookings this season to five, ergo one match ban. The club only found out about it though from a newspaper report, as the certified express delivery letter took ages to arrive (en el palacio etc., etc.).

The committees also let Real Sociedad's Rossato off his red card from the weekend, and fined Spain's manager Luis Aragonés €3,000 for his remarks about Thierry Henry prior to the England game. Aragonés had been given messages of support from several players, most notable of which being Samuel Eto'o, who was under his wing for several seasons at Mallorca. Osasuna's Moha was given a two match ban for his "kick up the bum" on Málaga's Baiano, but this was later reduced to one after the appeal committee agreed with the club that the attacker exaggerated the incident.

Only two red cards in the midweek round of games, the first of which was for Espanyol's Jarque for a high kick on Barcelona's Márquez in their local derby. The Mexican midfielder said it was a malicious tackle which caught him on the chest but which could have taken his head off, but the young defender said it was not deliberate, the momentum taking him on to commit the foul. Zaragoza's Zapater went from hero to villain in a few minutes, getting his side's goal and then picking up a second booking and consequently a red card.

Zapater's midfield partner Movilla will also miss the next match after picking up his fifth yellow card, as will three Racing Santander players, Regueiro (10 cards), Juanma and Aganzo (both 5). They will be joined by Pinillos of Levante (10 cards), and also Murillo (Athletic), Perea (Atlético), Farinós (Mallorca), Pignol (Numancia) and Alves (Sevilla), all with five. (04.03.05)