The big talking point this week was about the introduction of “Video Assisted Refereeing” after it was tried out in the friendly international between France and Spain. Without the system the game would have finished 1-1, but in the end Spain ran out 0-2 winners after Griezmann’s goal was ruled out and Deulofeu’s reinstated by the video assistant referee, both following erroneous offside decisions. VAR would have come in useful this weekend, with several controversial rulings throughout the programme of games. For example Sanabria (Betis at Espanyol) and Kike García (Eibar at Villarreal) were both given penalties for what were clear dives, and Villarreal were also upset at Ocón Arráiz when he missed a clear hand-ball by Lejeune in the area soon after the first penalty. Benzema’s opener against Alavés was allowed to stand even though the Real Madrid striker was offside in the build up, and David Simón’s goal at Celta and Carles Gil's strike at Valencia were ruled out even though the Las Palmas defender and the Deportivo midfielder weren't. And Bikandi Garrido awarded a penalty to Sporting’s Carmona at Sevilla before changing his decision (correctly) to offside after consulting with his linesman, and then waved away appeals for a penalty at the other end when Amorebieta (already on a booking) blocked Vitolo’s cross with his hand. Maybe the system not perfect, and it still needs some finishing touches, but it shouldn’t be long before video replays are part of the game. It’s about time! (04.04.17)

Name Games played Yellow cards Red cards Total
Estrada Fernández 18 125 11 136
Gil Manzano 19 126 7 133
Iglesias Villanueva 18 111 4 115
Jaime Latre 19 109 5 114
Alvarez Izquierdo 17 104 5 109
Hernández Hernández 19 101 7 108
Martínez Munuera 19 103 4 107
González González 22 97 5 102
Del Cerro Grande 15 91 8 99
Melero López 16 94 4 98