Barcelona, April 16 (IANS) Rafa Yuste, FC Barcelona’s vice president of sport, has harshly criticised a decision by La Liga’s Disciplinary Committee to give Kylian Mbappe a one-game ban after his horror challenge in the game against Alaves. Mbappe was sent off for a lunge on Alaves midfielder Antonio Blanco. The referee’s report stated Mbappe was sent off for violent conduct, which results in a punishment of between one to three matches.
A three-match ban would have seen Mbappe miss the Copa del Rey final against their El Clasico rivals on April 26.
“I would say it’s absolutely absurd. A shocking tackle that could have injured the opponent and is completely disproportionate. If it had been one of our players, which they wouldn’t do because they’re clean, very sporting players.
“If he goes off the deep end like what happened with the Real Madrid player, it only reinforces our belief that we have to do much better to avoid relying on these things. Because this sets a bad example for football. This can’t be allowed, and for me, a single-match ban is a disgrace,” said Yuste in an interview with Spanish radio Rac-1
Madrid will now put the game against Alaves in the rearview mirror as they get set to take on Arsenal in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals with a three-goal deficit to overcome.
Barca on the other hand secured a semifinal berth after defeating Borussia Dortmund 5-3 on aggregate. Yuste revealed he did suffer in the second-leg with Dortmund putting on a solid performance to win the clash 3-1, but said suffering is a part of Barcelona’s DNA.
“I suffered because we had a lot at stake, and when you have a lot at stake, what you want is to get through to the semifinals. That’s a yellow hell, and it makes your temperature rise. Obviously, you suffer because we were close. Suffering is part of the Culés’ DNA,” he added.
–IANS
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