After Esteban Andrada completely lost his temper in the relegation thriller of the Spanish 2nd division, the Real Zaragoza goalkeeper has now publicly apologized. The punch against his opponent is likely to have severe consequences.
Immediately after the important clash at SD Huesca (0:1), Real Zaragoza condemned the brutal attack by their goalkeeper “in the strongest terms” in a statement. The second-to-last team in La Liga 2 wrote of “scenes that are not worthy of this sport and should never have happened”.
Esteban Andrada, who had just been cautioned, had initially pushed over his opponent Jorge Pulido on the halfway line and was shown a yellow card. A few moments later, however, he ran back towards Pulido, who had got up again in the meantime, and punched him in the face with full force.
As a result of a confusing scuffle, two other players were also sent off with red cards: Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende and Dani Jimenez. Unlike Andrada, however, their suspensions are likely to be much shorter.
Important detail in the referee’s report
The referee’s match report, which described the situation as follows, is likely to be decisive for the actual penalty: “Esteban Andrada approached Jorge Pulido violently and aggressively, ran towards him and jumped on him, punching him in the face with excessive force, throwing him to the ground and causing him a bruise on his left cheekbone. “
The last half-sentence in particular is significant, as a glance at the corresponding Article 103 of the Disciplinary Code of the Spanish Football Federation RFEF makes clear. It initially states that such an offense, which “takes place during a stoppage in play or at such a distance from the action that it is impossible to intervene in this phase of the game”, is punishable by a suspension “of four to twelve matches” – but only if the attack “does not result in injury”.
Since this is the case with Andrada and Pulido’s cheekbone contusion, the second paragraph of Article 103 comes into focus: “A suspension of six to fifteen matches shall be imposed if the act causes an injury that results in the victim being unable to play, unless this constitutes a more serious offense.”
Does Andrada benefit from mitigating circumstances?
Saragossa’s goalkeeper is therefore facing a possible 15-match ban after his outburst – plus an additional game due to the previous sending-off. However, it remains to be seen whether this will actually happen, as several circumstances could have a mitigating effect on the penalty.
On the one hand, this is the statement released by the Aragonese club shortly after kick-off. The fact that Andrada had not committed any similar incidents in the past could also reduce the ban to an estimated ten to eleven matches.
In addition, Zaragoza will probably refer to Article 10 of the RFEF disciplinary regulations in the disciplinary proceedings, which lists “spontaneous remorse” as a mitigating circumstance. Andrada has since commented on the incident via the club’s media: “I deeply regret what happened. It doesn’t reflect well on the club, on the people and on a professional like me,“ explained the 35-year-old.
In an ”extreme situation“, he ”lost his temper” and ultimately overreacted in such a way. “I wouldn’t do that again, because I’m a public figure and a professional with a long career,” Andrada explained, also addressing his opponent Pulido: “I’d like to ask Jorge for forgiveness, because we’re colleagues. I am ready to comply with the decisions of La Liga.”
What these will be will become clear in the coming days.