Cup ties are always
difficult for referees, and there was some controversy this weekend in the
fifth round second leg games. Iturralde González upset Valladolid's
Mendilibar turning down two late penalty appeals as his side trailed against
Atlético, and the coach was eventually shown the red card for a very
Spanish gesture, patting his cheek and mouthing "tienes mucha cara" (which
could be literally translated as you've got a lot of cheek, although the
interpretation is stronger). And Rodríguez Santiago scuppered Espanyol's
chances when he sent off Luis García early on for pushing Athletic
Bilbao's Tiko. The midfielder did exaggerate the incident though, which the
disciplinary committee also thought when they downgraded the red to a yellow.
(22.01.08) |