FC Barcelona is not giving up and is exhausting all legal avenues to ensure that Hansi Flick can sit on the bench at the Santiago Bernabeu this Sunday (16:15 CEST). After the RFEF’s Appeals Committee confirmed the one-match ban imposed on the German coach, the Catalan club will go to the Administrative Court of Sport (TAD) in the hope of obtaining a precautionary measure that will allow him to lead the team against Real Madrid. What does seem clear is that it will be his assistant Marcus Sorg who will give the pre-match press conference.
The Appeals Committee’s decision, communicated on Thursday, ratifies the position of the Disciplinary Committee, which considered valid the assessments reflected in the report by referee Jesus Gil Manzano after Flick’s expulsion in the final stages of the match against Girona. The referee stated that the coach was first cautioned “for applauding one of my decisions in protest” and was immediately shown a yellow card “for making a gesture of disapproval” after the first caution.
Since it was a double yellow card and not a direct expulsion, the punishment is limited to a single match, although it is enough to prevent him from being on the bench at the Bernabeu. Barcelona presented allegations, providing images that, in their opinion, disproved the referee’s report. However, both the Disciplinary Committee and the Appeals Committee agreed that the videos do not distort what was recorded by Gil Manzano.
The Appeals Committee again recalled Article 27 of the Disciplinary Code, which states that “the referee’s decisions on facts related to the game are final and are presumed to be true, except in the case of a manifest material error”. Under this premise, the body dismissed Barcelona’s appeal and upheld the punishment in full.
The spanish club still has one last shot
The spanish club still has one last shot. It must submit an urgent request to the TAD before midday on Friday for the sanction to be provisionally suspended so that Flick can take his place during the Clasico. If this is not successful, Marcus Sorg, his assistant, would be in charge of leading the team from the sidelines.
In the Barcelona camp, there is no hiding the frustration with the decision. They believe that the sanction is disproportionate and that the referee’s interpretation was excessive. They are confident that the TAD, the highest body in sports disciplinary matters, can intervene in time and allow the German coach to be present in the most eagerly awaited match of the season.
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