The RFEF Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned Girona player David López with four games of suspension and a fine of 601 euros for his statements against referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias made on October 22, 2023 during half-time of the match against Almería in Montilivi.
In these statements, David López pointed out the following: “You try to focus on the game but it is very difficult to work like this. We are all working and you can always say a word above tone, but do not disrespect and insult. It disrespects you and He insults you (…) I’m referring to the referee, Miguel Ángel. I think that the First Division players know him (…) I respect everyone, but the bad manners and the arrogance…”
Once the audios of the match have been heard and after verifying that “at no time does he insult or disrespect Girona’s player number 5, Mr. David López. He only warns him that if he continues with this behavior he will be forced to show him the second warning “, the committee considers that the “statements made by the player are not only sufficiently accredited but that his own coach, Míchel Sánchez, made public statements on television after the match stating that he had gone to apologize to the referee, who believed that his player had made a mistake, that his player had overheated and that he has to control himself.
And he adds that “on November 8, about to end the deadline for proposing evidence for this disciplinary file, the player issued a note expressing his total regret: “After a deep reflection on this whole situation, I want to publicly apologize to Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias and, also, to the entire arbitration team.'”
The player adds: “My statements are due to a confusion on my part about a statement made by the referee towards me, which I interpreted in a different way. My confusion, when I took it for granted and my subsequent statements occurred as a consequence of the friction that already occurred in the locker room tunnel”.
