La Liga referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez has not been allocated a game next weekend by the Spanish football federation following his officiating of the fixture between Real Betis and Barcelona on Sunday in which he angered both teams.
The Spanish champions won 3-2 at the Benito Villamarin in a thrilling match the official seemed to lose control of, sending off Clement Lenglet and Nabil Fekir but not dismissing Sergi Roberto or awarding Lionel Messi a penalty.
Fekir was sent off for two bookings in the space of a few seconds, one for a foul and the other for dissent. Lenglet followed but Betis were angry that Sergi Roberto, who had already been booked, was let off after scything down Carles Alena.
"How can that not be a second yellow for Sergi Roberto's foul on Alena?" asked Betis coach Rubi. "Barcelona should have been left with 10 men, there's no doubt about it."
Real Betis's vice-president Jose Miguel Lopez Catalan also criticised the officials after the game. "We are indignant and angry because once again refereeing has hurt Betis and it has not been fair," he said.
Barcelona had complaints too, with Messi pulled back in the area at the end but Sanchez Martinez did not point to the spot.
"In the end we could have won by more goals, if you look at the penalty they didn't give Messi," said Barca midfielder Frenkie de Jong. "It was clear, they pushed him over."
Tottenham's Alli apologises for coronavirus video
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli has apologised for a video posted on his Snapchat account in which he appeared to mock an Asian man in relation to the coronavirus outbreak.
The newly identified coronavirus outbreak in China has killed over 900 people, with more than 40,000 infected.
Alli, who has been on holiday while Spurs are on their winter break, posted the video of him wearing a face mask in an airport lounge with the message, “Corona whattt, please listen with volume.”
He then zooms the camera towards a man of Asian appearance before panning to a bottle of antiseptic hand wash with the video caption reading: “This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me.”
The post was subsequently removed and Alli later apologised on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
“It wasn’t funny. I realised that immediately and took it down,” he said. “I let myself down and the club. I don’t want you guys to have that impression of me.”
Brazil qualify for 2020 Olympic men's tournament
Reigning Olympic men’s football champions Brazil qualified for this summer’s tournament in Japan with a 3-0 win over Argentina on Sunday.
Brazil had to beat their arch rivals in the Colombia qualifier in order to join them as one of South America’s two representatives at the Tokyo Games.
Paulinho scored the opener after 11 minutes before Matheus Cunha added a second on the half-hour mark and a third early in the second half.
Argentina had already qualified for Tokyo after winning their first two matches in the round robin qualifying tournament. Uruguay lost out despite beating hosts Colombia 3-1 earlier on Sunday.
Brazil won the gold medal at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, giving them the last major international title to have eluded them.
