One topic of conversation this weekend on the refereeing front, possible penalties for hand ball, and in particular the one that Turienzo Alvarez missed in the match between Sevilla and Barcelona when Belletti cut out a dangerous cross with an upraised fist which was clear to all but the officials. The incident was one of three penalty appeals in favour of the home side which Turienzo turned down in a brief space of time around the half time interval, leaving Sevilla coach Joaquín Caparrós without words (repeatable ones at least).

On the other hand (no pun intended) Pérez Burrull quite happily awarded a spot kick to Athletic Bilbao when Del Horno's centre struck Caneira on the arm with his back turned, which the referee ruled was deliberate. However Ramírez Domínguez, Carmona Méndez and Rubinos Pérez waved play on in their respective matches when Gravesen (Real Madrid), Josetxo (Osasuna) and Oscar Serrano (Espanyol) all appeared to handle in the area. It's the referee's shout in the end whether it was deliberate or not, but their decisions can affect the final result.

Finally our congratulations to Medina Cantalejo and Mejuto González, who have been chosen as Spain's representatives in next year's World Cup finals. Let's hope they don't follow in the footsteps of the now retired López Nieto, who set a new tournament record for a single game of sixteen yellow cards and two reds in the 2002 tournament. Take it easy boys! (01.02.05)