Valencia midfielder Sofiane Feghouli has been handed a three-game ban by the Spanish Football Federation today for his weekend red card.
The Frenchman was dismissed for two bookable offences in Los Che’s home match with Real Zaragoza. The Competition Committee determined that the initial act of the red card warranted a one-game ban but that the midfielder’s sarcastic applauding to the referee upon receiving the card was deserving of a further two-game suspension.
Valencia have the option to take the decision to the Appeals Committee, but the Competition Committee have already made clear that their case for rescission of the first yellow card handed to the player did not stand up.
Los Che argued that the player was not hindering Zaragoza taking a free-kick quickly and instead that the taker of the free-kick Helder Postiga deliberately kicked the ball against Feghouli to get him cautioned.
However, the Competition Committee say that pictures clearly show Feghouli ‘taking steps to interfere in the trajectory of the ball’.
