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January 20, 2021

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Messi suspended for 2 matches

Source: Agencies | 00:05 UTC+8 January 20, 2021 | Print Edition

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has escaped a lengthy ban for lashing out at Athletic Bilbao’s Asier Villalibre in Sunday’s Spanish Super Cup final defeat and will only serve a two-game suspension.

The Spanish soccer federation, or RFEF, said yesterday Messi had been banned for two matches, meaning he will miss tomorrow’s Copa del Rey last-32 tie at Cornella and Sunday’s La Liga match at Elche. He is set to return to face Bilbao in the league on January 29.

He was already expected to miss the game against Cornella with coach Ronald Koeman trying to keep Messi’s minutes under control to avoid serious injury.

Barcelona said it will appeal the ban.

The Argentine was sent off at the end of extra time in the Super Cup final, which Barcelona lost 2-3, for striking Villalibre in the face.

He would have faced a sanction ranging from four to 12 matches had the RFEF’S competition committee described the incident as aggression but it was instead reported as “violence during play,” which is punished with a 2- or 3-game ban.

After passing the ball out to the left flank, Messi swung his right arm at the head of Villalibre as they ran toward the box. Villalibre immediately fell to the ground and after a video review Messi was given his first red card in 753 appearances with Barcelona’s main squad.

Messi had been sent off twice while playing for Argentina’s national team, including a few seconds into his debut in a friendly against Hungary in 2005. The other time was in a 2019 Copa America match against Chile. He was also sent off once while playing for Barca’s “B” team.

Referee Gil Manzano said in his match report that Messi hit his opponent with “excessive force” while the ball was not near him.

Messi had been doubtful to play in the Spanish Super Cup final because of an unspecified fitness issue that had caused Koeman to leave him out of the semifinal match against Real Sociedad on Wednesday, when Barcelona prevailed in a penalty shootout.

Messi, who asked to leave the club in the offseason but had his request denied, is having an average season compared to previous years, having scored 14 goals in 22 matches. He was far from his best on Sunday despite helping set up the team’s first goal.

Messi was visibly frustrated as the match went on and Barcelona struggled to recover from its deficit against Athletic. The Catalan club twice relinquished leads, including conceding a 90th-minute equalizer scored by Villalibre. Antoine Griezmann scored both Barcelona goals.

The defeat cost Barcelona a chance to end a title drought that has lingered from last season, the club’s first without a title since 2007-08.

Meanwhile, two Spanish footballers were sentenced to two years imprisonment yesterday for broadcasting a sex tape with a woman on social media.

Eibar striker Sergi Enrich and the club’s former defender Antonio Luna will avoid jail as according to Spanish law any sentence of up to two years does not need to be served. The decision was made by a San Sebastien judge and the pair pleaded guilty to “divulging personal information of a sexual nature.”

The incident occurred in 2016 and the woman had not given permission to the filming.

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