| After
several quiet weeks, two of our old favourites from last season finally
shrugged off the sheep's clothing. Prados García showed twelve yellow
cards and one red in the match between Numancia and Real Sociedad. Of the
twelve yellows, only five were for genuine fouls. Four were for protesting,
including three for the managers (see villains section), one was for diving and
the other two, Real's De Pedro and De Paula, got their respective yellow cards
for "embracing members of the public in celebration of their goals" . Normally
that would be more than enough to take the white stick of the week, but
Esquinas Torres outdid him, not in number of cards but in the effect his
decisions had on the match. Celta had gone eleven games in a row without defeat
before their game with Racing. However the referee allowed an offside goal to
stand, sent off two Celta players with half an hour gone (see villains section
again) and booked five others. With their team in disarray Racing scored two
more before half time and the match finished 3-0. Celta drop out of the UEFA
spots and Racing climb out of the relegation zone as a result. A quick P.S. too
on Pérez Lasa's performance last week. The referee reported Donato and
Manuel Pablo after the match for insults, and both were suspended for one match
accordingly (Donato was only cautioned but it was his fifth so he missed a
match anyway). His sending off of Djalminha, albeit justified, earned the
Brazilian a two match ban, and he also gave Naybet a yellow which was his fifth
of the season. Deportivo were therefore four players short for their game with
Osasuna this weekend. A retrospective white stick prize for the man.
(16.04.01) |
