For the avoidance of any doubt, we now know that grabbing Alexander Sorloth’s penis on a football pitch gets you a two-game ban.
LaLiga announced the punishment for Getafe defender Abdelkabir Abqar, although they refused to use such descriptive terms.
The Disciplinary Committee handed down the two-match suspension for ‘conduct contrary to good sporting order, with an additional fine pursuant to Article 52 of the Disciplinary Code (Article 129)’.
The Moroccan will miss the league matches against RCD Espanyol and Athletic.
The committee dismissed an appeal from Getafe, saying: “The analysis of the images also shows its compatibility with the factual account recorded in the referee’s report, without any clear, evident and unequivocal contradiction that would allow its content to be distorted.”
The referee’s report was more explicit than the committee, with Ortiz Arias writing: “In the 55th minute, player Abqar Abdelkabir was sent off for the following reason: for pinching an opposing player’s genitals when the ball was not in play.”
Explaining Sortloth’s yellow, he added that it was: “for holding an opponent and pulling him to the ground after the latter had pinched his genitals when the ball was not in play.”
The incident during the 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid wasn’t spotted the first time around, only for the referee to check the VAR screen and decide on a red card.
Abqar, on his part, was insistent that he was just trying to pinch Sorloth’s stomach before being thrown to the ground by the striker.
“I want to make it clear that it wasn’t my intention to touch the player in that area,” he said post-match.
“In football, we touch each other, we collide, but I didn’t intend to touch him there.
“The video clearly shows that I wasn’t looking to touch him there.
“I swear I didn’t intend to touch him; I wanted to make contact, as happens in football.
“The referee saw that I wanted to touch him there, but it wasn’t my intention.
“I swear on my family that I didn’t want to touch him there.”
The defender doth protest too much.
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