Suarez faces ban over 鈥榳aste of space鈥 jibe
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Barcelona striker Luis Suarez faces a ban of up to three Copa del Rey matches after being cited in the referee鈥檚 report for calling Espanyol players 鈥渁 waste of space鈥 at the end of a heated Catalan derby.
Barcelonaa won the first leg of the Copa de Rey last-16 tie between the sides 4-1 on Wednesday as Espanyol had two players sent off and was lucky to escape further punishment as goalkeeper Pau Lopez鈥檚 violent stamp on Lionel Messi went unseen.
However, it is Suarez, who was also booked for a clash with Lopez, who is expected to receive a one to three-game Cup ban for sparking a brawl in the tunnel after the game that security personnel had to break up.
鈥淲hilst all the Espanyol players climbed the stairs in the tunnel towards the dressing rooms, he (Suarez) waited for them and confronted them saying on various occasions: 鈥淗ere I am waiting for you, come here; you are a waste of space,鈥 referee Juan Martinez Munuera wrote in his report.
鈥淭hat provoked a clash between players from both clubs forcing security personnel present and the managerial staff from both teams to intervene.鈥
Espanyol鈥檚 Gerard Moreno said some Barcelona players 鈥渨ere waiting for them鈥 and 鈥減rovoked鈥 him and teammates.
Espanyol鈥檚 physical approach had frustrated Barcelona in an equally fiery clash between the two in La Liga last Saturday which finished 0-0.
And Barcelona boss Luis Enrique praised the referee鈥檚 more strict approach to Espanyol鈥檚 roughhouse tactics in midweek, comparing the visitors鈥 style to American football.
Suarez鈥檚 controversial career has seen him receive four long bans; three for biting opponents and once for allegedly racially abusing French defender Patrice Evra of Manchester United during his time at Liverpool.
Yet, the Uruguayan鈥檚 behavior since joining Barcelona 18 months ago has been exemplary and a suspension would be his first since the four-month ban he received for his latest bite on Italy鈥檚 Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.
Messi scored two goals and set up two more for Barcelona in the tempestuous derby.
Felipe Caicedo grabbed Espanyol a 9th-minute lead at Camp Nou, but Messi hit right back four minutes later. He put the hosts ahead with an unstoppable free kick just before halftime, and assisted Gerard Pique soon after the interval.
Messi then set up Neymar for the fourth goal after Espanyol鈥檚 Hernan Perez and Papakouly Diop were sent off.
Elsewhere, Athletic Bilbao, last year鈥檚 finalist to Barcelona, scored three times in the second half to erase a two-goal deficit and beat Villarreal 3-2, while Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, and Deportivo La Coruna got positive results.
Atletico trailed after Nacho Martinez struck from long range for Rayo Vallecano, but Saul Niguez scored against his former team in the 67th to get an away goal in a 1-1 draw.
Gary Neville also got his first win as Valencia coach over a topflight team after Alvaro Negredo scored a hat trick in a 4-0 rout of Granada.
Valencia is still without a win through four Spanish league matches under Neville.
Sevilla took a 2-0 lead from its victory at Real Betis in a Seville derby, while Deportivo La Coruna needed defender Alberto Lopo to head in a late equalizer to claim a 1-1 draw at second-division club Mirandes.
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