Barcelona to lodge second appeal against Vilanova dismissal

Barcelona will lodge a second appeal against the dismissal of coach Tito Vilanova in Sunday's 2-1 win at Osasuna after the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) rejected an initial effort and suspended the coach for two games on Wednesday.

"FC Barcelona's legal department will lodge an appeal in coming days against the decision by the Spanish soccer federation's competition committee to suspend Tito Vilanova for two matches," Barca said.

Barca felt Vilanova's dismissal from the bench, which came on his away debut in the league, was excessively harsh.

He protested the referee's decision not to award a free kick for a challenge on Sergio Busquets and the referee said in his match report he had punished Vilanova "for angrily protesting a passage of play, having been warned by the fourth official".

The RFEF announced the two-game ban on their website and also said they had suspended Real Madrid defender Fabio Coentrao for four matches for insulting the referee during Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Getafe.

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