Joaquin has sent a clear message to Nabil Fekir over his red card against Bayer Leverkusen.
Real Betis endured a disastrous night in Europe on Wednesday night, losing 4-0 to Leverkusen away from home.
The result leaves Betis still in a good position in their Europa League group, in second and with a solid chance of going through, a point ahead of third-place Celtic.
But concerningly, ahead of two crucial remaining games in the competition, Betis’ star man Fekir was sent off.
In the 93rd minute, Fekir lashed out and put his hands around the throat of Kerem Demirbay.
It was an undoubted sending off for Fekir, who will now be suspended for Betis’ next clash, with Ferencvaros, and Los Verdiblancos hero Joaquin has made it clear that such a reaction simply can’t happen.
“Nabil is a footballer with a strong character, with a lot of personality. The nerves and the tension have got the better of him, although these are things that cannot happen because they stain the football.”
Betis will need to put this defeat behind them quickly as they prepare for El Gran Derbi at home with Sevilla on Sunday.
This defeat made it back-to-back defeats for Betis across Europa League and La Liga, conceding seven goals in those two outings.
I was dismayed at how bad El Betis have looked the last two games. Poor, inaccurate passing, poor personal skill, lack of effort, just all around poor futbol. They can and must play better, consistently.