Almeyda's Seven-Match Ban Upheld as Sevilla's Appeal Falls Flat
Sevilla's attempt to reduce Matías Almeyda's seven-match touchline ban has been rejected in full by the Appeals Committee. He starts serving it vs Getafe.
Sevilla tried their luck with the Appeals Committee and came away with absolutely nothing to show for it. Matías Almeyda’s seven-match ban is staying exactly as it is, and the club’s legal team couldn’t shift a single point of the sanction.
What’s the story?
Almeyda was sent off during Sevilla’s match against Alavés last week, and the fallout has been brutal. The Argentine gaffer had already accumulated four separate disciplinary offences, which stacked up to give him the full seven-game suspension. Sevilla’s lawyers put together a case and lobbed it at the Appeals Committee — who promptly knocked it straight back.
- The committee rejected every single allegation put forward by Sevilla’s legal side
- No reduction, no partial relief, nothing — the full seven matches stand
- Sevilla had reportedly been expecting some kind of reduction, so this is a proper blow
So who’s running the show?
With Almeyda banned from the dugout, Javi Martínez steps into the breach as the man on the touchline. He’s not exactly a stranger to the club — he previously served as assistant to Jesús Galván at Sevilla Atlético, so he knows the setup.
But let’s be clear: Almeyda isn’t exactly going quietly. He made it plain in his press conference that even though he won’t physically be in the dugout, the decisions are still his. Bit of a grey area there, but that’s the situation.
The ban in numbers
- 7 matches total
- 4 separate offences that combined to reach that total
- Match 1 of the ban: tomorrow against Getafe at the Coliseum
- 0 successful appeals — Sevilla got absolutely mugged off by the committee
What does this mean for Sevilla?
Seven games is a long time to be without your manager on the bench, especially for a club that’s been trying to find some stability this season. Almeyda has brought a certain energy to the place since taking over, and not having him barking instructions from the technical area for the best part of two months is far from ideal.
Javi Martínez will have to be his eyes and ears on the pitch — a tough ask, but Almeyda’s clearly not planning to go dark. Whether the setup works in practice is another matter entirely.
For now, Sevilla fans will just have to hope the lads can hold things together while El Pelado watches from somewhere a bit further back than usual.
Source: MARCA