Rant against referee, coach punished with maxi disqualification

Last weekend there were several tense moments during the Spanish league match between Sevilla and Alavés: after Juanlu Sanchez was sent off, the hosts protested at length against the referee’and the tension continued throughout the match. In the last minutes, following an alleged penalty not awarded to Sevilla, coach Matías Almeyda lost control.

Ernesto Villa

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The technician lashed out at the’referee who was forced to eject him but the matter did not end there: Almeyda refused to leave the field and his staff only managed to take him to the locker room after several minutes. The Disciplinary Commission of the Spanish Football Federation punished the coach with 7 days of disqualification: he will return in mid-April. The report reads: “In the 85th minute, coach Almeyda Matias Jesus was ejected for blatantly protesting a decision of mine, throwing shouts and gestures of disapproval at the referee after being admonished a few minutes earlier by the assistant referee, who called on him to correct both his attitude and the general conduct of his bench”.

“Once ejected, he refused to leave the technical area, despite repeated reminders from the first assistant and the fourth man. This situation led to the interruption of the game to inform him again that he had to leave the bench. The said coach then entered the field and positioned himself face to face with the referee, inches away, in a provocative and intimidating manner. After repeatedly intimidating him to leave the field, he maintained the same attitude, confronting the referee for more than a minute. He then addressed the referee with terms and attitudes of contempt and disrespect. As he was leaving the field he kicked a water bottle”.

Given the very heavy disqualification, Matías Almeyda will miss matches with Getafe, Betis, Rayo Vallecano, Barcelona, Valencia, Real Oviedo and Atletico Madrid. He will be back on the field to lead his boys in the match against Levante.