Six red cards as La Liga returned following the international break. Curiously two of them came after the respective matches had finished, and both were cancelled on appeal. Ex "Villains" prizewinner Luccin was shown a straight red by Pérez Lasa for calling him stupid ("tonto") after the final whistle of their match against Mallorca. The disciplinary committee downgraded it to a yellow card, and although the French midfielder had picked up another booking earlier in the game, it was not considered to constitute a red card precisely because the match had ended. At almost the same moment Getafe's Paredes was shown a second yellow card for "waving his arms in the air and shouting how can you blow for full time now...". The defender apologised to referee Pérez Lima in the changing rooms, and the committee decided to cancel the second card. It was not a good night for Pérez Lima, who also had another yellow card to Zaragoza's Piqué overturned on appeal, which would have been the defender's fifth of the season.

For dumb sendings off though you don't have to look any further than that of Levante's Riga on Saturday. The Dutch midfielder had already been booked earlier by Fernández Borbolán for a foul, and seven minutes in to the second half the referee gave him a second yellow card after spotting that he had put back on a gold chain which had been removed before kick off! Levante coach Abel Resino was not a happy man, and he too was shown a red card for his continuous protest, earning himself a two match suspension.

Guti was the biggest name to be sent for an early bath, the Real Madrid man picking up one booking late on for diving in the penalty area and another seconds later for protesting. And Nàstic's Campano was the sixth to be shown a red card for a tackle from behind late in the first half of the match against Recreativo. All will be joined on the sidelines next weekend by eight players who completed the five yellow card cycle, including Amorebieta (Athletic), who picked up his tenth booking, and Pinto (Celta), Juan Rodríguez (Deportivo), Tamudo (Espanyol), Matellán (Nàstic), Héctor Font and Juanfran (Osasuna) and Gago (Real Madrid), all of whom were given their fifth. (03.04.07)