After his sending-off in the 1-1 draw between Sevilla and Deportivo Alavés in LaLiga, Matías Almeyda received a forceful sanction. The Competition Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) suspended him for seven matches, an unusual punishment in Spanish football and one of the most severe penalties applied to a coach in recent years.
The incident occurred in the 85th minute of the match played at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium, when the Argentine coach reacted vehemently to a decision by referee Iosu Galech Apezteguía. According to the official report, he was sent off "for protesting one of my decisions in an ostentatious manner, shouting and making gestures of disapproval toward me, having been warned a few minutes earlier by assistant no. 1 to redirect both his attitude and the general behavior of his bench".
Far from calming down after seeing the red card, Almeyda continued his complaints and delayed his exit from the field, which further aggravated the situation. The disciplinary tribunal broke down the sanction as follows: two matches for protesting to the referee, one for failing to go to the locker room after the sending-off, three for repeated attitudes of contempt or lack of respect toward the referees, and one for conduct contrary to good sporting order.
In a press conference, the coach apologized, although he questioned the ruling: "I consider it an injustice. I want justice because I was sent off in a shameful manner and I lose my head in the face of an injustice. He did not know whether the one who had spoken was me, and it was someone else, it should not be so easy to send off a coach. If I say that a foul is not a foul and I rest my head on the bench, I can't be sent off".
