Barcelona supervisor Hansi Flick has strongly questioned why he was despatched off throughout his facet’s 2-2 draw with Actual Betis on Saturday afternoon – a choice which the membership will reportedly enchantment.
The normally reserved German coach misplaced his cool when Betis have been awarded a second-half spot kick. Barcelona loanee Vitor Roque was on the epicentre of the incident, darting into the penalty space earlier than clashing with Frenkie de Jong.
On-pitch referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz initially waved play on, a lot to the evident disgust of Roque, who had misplaced his boot within the problem. After a phrase in his ear from the video assistant referee, Muniz Ruiz overturned his choice and pointed to the spot, sparking an outburst from Flick. The Barcelona boss was proven a straight pink card earlier than Giovani Lo Celso dispatched the penalty.
“I do not perceive my pink card,” Flick informed the assembled reporters after the match. “I did not say something to anybody, it was simply my response. It took me a very long time to resolve whether or not it was a penalty or not. When you want that a lot time, it could possibly be a query of doubt. I am not proud. It is by no means occurred to me earlier than. However possibly it is one thing from right here. I used to be indignant with myself, not with anybody.”
Muniz Ruiz defined Flick’s dismissal in his match report, writing: “He was despatched off for popping out of the technical space shouting and gesticulating, protesting one in every of my choices.”
The previous Bayern Munich boss has earned himself at the very least a two-game ban with that pink card, though Spanish publication Marca have reported that the membership are interesting the “unfair” choice.
As outlined within the report, Article 127 of the Spanish federation’s Disciplinary Code states that “protesting to the principle referee, assistants or the fourth official, offered that it doesn’t represent a extra severe offence, might be sanctioned with a suspension of two to 3 matches or for a interval of as much as one month”.
If Barcelona’s enchantment falls on deaf ears, Flick might be sidelined for the membership’s final two league video games of 2024; a go to from strugglers Leganes subsequent weekend earlier than an enormous conflict with Atletico Madrid on 21 December.
Past his personal indiscipline, Flick was not impressed along with his workforce’s efficiency. After watching his facet concede a 94th-minute equaliser, the German huffed: “I am actually dissatisfied with what occurred on the pitch. This was a match we wanted to win. We’ve got a really younger workforce and we should enhance loads. We’ve got to be stronger for away matches.”
