Zaragoza up in arms over El Yamiq's dodgy red card against Eibar

Real Zaragoza are proper fuming over Jawad El Yamiq’s contentious red card during their recent 1-1 draw with Eibar, and they’re not taking it lying down.

The Incident

The controversy kicked off in stoppage time when the Moroccan defender made contact with Eibar’s Aleix Garrido’s shoulder. The Basque player’s reaction was, shall we say, a tad theatrical - going down clutching his face as if he’d been walloped by Anthony Joshua.

Replay footage clearly showed Garrido’s performance deserved a BAFTA nomination rather than a red card for El Yamiq, but VAR inexplicably chose not to intervene and overturn the referee’s decision.

Club’s Response

Zaragoza’s director general Fernando López has now gone public with the club’s frustration:

• The club has submitted a formal appeal to disciplinary authorities
• They’ve expressed their “tremendous discontent” with the decision
• López insists El Yamiq “never engaged in violent conduct”
• They’re particularly miffed that VAR didn’t step in to correct the error

Timing is Everything

While the red card didn’t affect the result against Eibar (it came in stoppage time with the 1-1 scoreline already established), the consequences for Zaragoza are significant. El Yamiq will miss their next match unless the appeal is successful.

The timing is particularly unfortunate as this was El Yamiq’s return match for Zaragoza, and he’d already made his presence felt with both a goal for his side and an own goal before receiving his marching orders.

What Next?

Zaragoza are desperately hoping their appeal will be successful as losing El Yamiq for their next fixture would be a right old kick in the teeth. The club clearly views him as a crucial defensive asset despite his eventful reintroduction to the team.

The ball is now in the disciplinary committee’s court, with Zaragoza hoping common sense will prevail once they’ve had a butcher’s at the footage.