Barcelona also has to do without Ronald Koeman next Saturday in the top match against Atlético Madrid. This is the result of a decision by the Spanish Football Association to reject the appeal of the coach. Koeman appealed the two-game suspension he was given after his red card in the game against Granada (1-2 loss), but was told on Wednesday that his penalty will stand.
Koeman shouted last Thursday, in the 66th minute of the game with Granada, ‘despite some warnings’, vaya personaje towards the fourth man, as it turned out later from the referee’s report. Loosely translated, that comes down to ‘You are quite special’, ‘You are one of them’ or ‘What a character’. The two-game suspension he was imposed meant that he would have to miss the duels with Valencia and Atlético, after which he appealed. The Spanish Football Association did not respond to this, so that after the game won against Valencia (2-3), he will also have to watch the duel with Atlético from the stands.
Immediately after the game, Koeman assured that he had not used any swear words and said he had not offended anyone. However, the Spanish Referees Committee determined that calling vaya personaje has been a valid reason to send Koeman to the stands. “Disrespect is when you insult someone and that has not happened”, Koeman emphasized earlier in conversation with Spanish media. “We discussed a few moments during the match and that was done in a respectful way.”
The honors were held against Valencia by assistant coach Alfred Schreuder, who will also be responsible on Saturday. Barcelona will be number three against Atlético on Saturday, which has two points more and thus defends the lead in the Camp Nou. Real Madrid and Seville play in the capital on Sunday evening. The reigning champion, who has as many points as Barcelona, will benefit from a defeat of Atlético in Catalonia, as the mutual result is in favor of coach Zinedine Zidane’s team.
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