| Djalminha hit the headlines midweek after being suspended
for two games as a result of his behaviour last weekend (see week 18 link for
details). After consulting with his lawyers he has decided to appeal the
decision in the Spanish civil courts, which to FIFA is akin to Oliver Twist
asking for a second helping. Their wrath, as was Mr Bumble's, will be mighty,
and there is talk of suspending next weekend's league match and dropping
Deportivo from this summer's world club championship. The workhouse will never
be the same! Many of our other villains came out of the woodwork this week
between cup and league, so much so that our cut off point has risen from eight
to ten points in a couple of weeks. Poschner leads the pack this week after
picking up a yellow card in both competitions, taking him one ahead of Arzeno
who only managed one yellow in the cup. Our Vinny had a quiet day and was
caught by Txema and Catanha on 12 points. Two of our favourite villains, Luis
Enrique and Carboni, inevitably got their marching orders in an ugly match
between Valencia and Barcelona in which there were 58 fouls, one every 93
seconds. Things boiled up when Ayala trod on Simao several times, and although
he protested his innocence the Barcelona forwards, and in particular the
hot-headed Kluivert, got involved in a set to with him and other Valencia
players. Ayala, who had to have a cut above his eyebrow patched up a little
later on after another incident, may well be suspended by the disciplinary
committee this week on video evidence as referee López Nieto saw
nothing. Four other sendings off during the week, including Rayo's Ballesteros
and Zaragoza's Garitano in the cup, and Real Sociedad's Pikabea and Bilbao's
Oskar Vales in the league. Vales was reported to have hit Estévez on the
head according to a linesman, although the player said it was a playful tap and
even Estévez said he had hardly been touched. Bilbao will appeal.
Elsewhere, six more players have reached the five card limit and should get a
one match ban. They include Helder (Deportivo), Jarni (Las Palmas), Alfredo
(Osasuna), Pochettino (Espanyol), Cáceres (Celta) and Vicente
(Valencia). Mallorca's Samuel Eto'o is also in line for a suspension after
swearing at the fourth official who asked him to sit down after he was
substituted. (22.01.01) |
