White Stick Awards

The controversy in this weekend's round of games came early, Turienzo Alvarez having the temerity to award two penalties to Racing Santander late in the game against Real Madrid. Both were highly dubious, the first more than the second, and it resulted in a defeat for the Merengues, who also had Helguera and Mejía sent off.

The referee reported that Capello had protested vehemently to him after the match, and technical director Pedrag Mijatovic said in the press afterwards that something strange was going on, and he suspected "a black hand" against his club (a Spanish expression suggesting dirty dealings).

All that is par for the course in Spain, but things started to get out of hand when Turienzo received death threats at his home. The referee, obviously concerned for his family, reported the matter to the police, and the referees' committee asked for steps to be taken, including a sanction for Mijatovic for his declarations. Football is only a game, but sometimes it seems that we are at war! (17.04.07)

Name Games played Yellow cards Red cards Total
Velasco Carballo 16 115 8 123
Iturralde González 16 100 12 112
Muñiz Fernández 16 102 10 112
Turienzo Alvarez 16 102 8 110
Rubinos Pérez 13.3 88 14 102
Pérez Lasa 15 94 8 102
González Vázquez 15 90 9 99
Pérez Burrull 16 88 9 97
Daudén Ibáñez 14 88 8 96
Alvarez Izquierdo 17 87 4 91