| Maybe it was because this weekend was the 21st anniversary
of the famous attempted coup in Spain, now known as 23-F (after the date), when
the armed forces tried to take over the country and lieutenant-general Tejero
fired a gun in the parliament chambers. Perhaps that was in the mind of some
referees who felt that things were getting out of hand, and it was time to lay
down the law. Pérez Burrull certainly thought that about Celta's two
Russian revolutionaries Mostovoi and Karpin, and according to some anonymous
sources, stated as much in the plane on his way down to Sevilla to take charge
of their match at Betis. So it was no surprise when both players were marched
to the brig as Pérez Burrull amazingly produced eight yellows and two
reds, all for Celta players. In much the same way though that King Juan Carlos
refused to support the coup and told Tejero and his 200 guardia civiles to stop
being silly and to go home, so the disciplinary committee overturned the more
outrageous of the referee's decisions, downgrading Mostovoi's red to a yellow
and cancelling another yellow for Cáceres who would otherwise have had
to miss the weekend clash with Real Madrid. Karpin was not so lucky though,
picking up a one match ban, and having made inflamatory statements in the press
that referees had it in for them, the officials' ruling body could make an
official complaint. The battle may be over but the war has only just begun.
(26.02.02) |
