The Competition Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has dismissed the allegations presented by FC Barcelona and has agreed to impose a two-match ban on Xavi Hernández after being sent off with a straight red card at the Metropolitano in Barcelona’s victory against the Atlético de Madrid. The Barcelona coach will not sit on the bench against Las Palmas (March 30, 9:00 p.m.) or in Cádiz (April 13, 9:00 p.m.). Yes, he will be able to lead the team in the Bernabéu classic since he has not been sanctioned with a third game for repeat offenses. Barcelona will present a new appeal before the Appeal Committee.
At the Metropolitano the coach saw two cards. The first yellow card was due to a protest for a foul by Witsel on Robert Lewandowski, which Xavi insistently complained to the referee group around him, especially to the fourth referee Juan Antonio Campos Salinas. The direct red came a minute later. According to the referee’s report of the match refereed by Sánchez Martínez, the expulsion occurred for “making technical observations on one of my decisions, loudly, making inconsiderate gestures and after having been previously warned by the fourth referee.” In some images offered by DAZN, you can see the moment in which the fourth referee insists Sánchez Martínez to send off Xavi: “Take it out, take it out, second and out,” he repeats over the earpiece.
Although Barcelona was not initially going to appeal, Deco insisted on doing so after reviewing the images of the match. They consider that Xavi did not make any gesture of inconsideration and point out that with Simeone, who sometimes entered the field of play, he was more permissive. In the review of the match, they also observed that the fourth referee, Juan Antonio Campos Salinas, was practically on top of the Barcelona coach the entire time.
Competition has rejected these allegations and has imposed the suspension on the Barcelona coach in accordance with article 127 of the Federation Disciplinary Code, which indicates that “protesting the main referee, the assistants or the fourth referee /a, as long as it does not constitute a more serious offense, it will be punished with a suspension of two to three games with an accessory fine of 700 euros for the club and 600 euros for the offender. He also maintains the first yellow card applying article 118.1. “Reprimand for formulating or making observations, gestures or objections to the main referee, the assistants and the fourth referee.” The Barcelona club will present a new appeal to the Appeal Committee that could meet this Friday.
Finally, Xavi has not been sanctioned with a third match for repeat offenses since he saw a red card earlier this season on the first matchday when Getafe managed to scratch a point. On that occasion, At Barça they were confident that they would not receive this third game. This was supported by precedents, such as that of Míchel Sánchez, coach of Girona, last season. The Madrid native saw a straight red card against Betis in the initial stretch of the season and against Barça after the World Cup break. In both cases, he was banned for two games. With this diagnosis, Xavi will be able to lead Barcelona in the momentous match against Real Madrid in the league classic at the Bernabéu on April 21.
