A verdict has been reached in the case of Esteban Andrada (35), which has been discussed beyond the country’s borders: the goalkeeper of Spanish second division club Zaragoza has been banned for 13 games for his punch in the derby last Sunday.
The highly charged second division derby between SD Huesca and Real Zaragoza was heading towards the final whistle last Sunday at 1-0 to the home side in front of just over 8,000 spectators when Esteban Andrada blew the fuses: The visiting keeper, who had just been cautioned, was shown a yellow card for pushing Jorge Pulido on the halfway line, but moments later he also punched his opponent in the face with full force. A huge scuffle ensued.
Shortly after the final whistle, Real Zaragoza condemned Andrada’s assault “in the strongest terms”. His coach David Navarro
called it an incident for which there was “no excuse”. The 35-year-old Argentinian Andrada, who came from Mexico and has only been wearing the jersey of the second division club since September 2025, expressed his remorse shortly afterwards: “I deeply regret what happened. It doesn’t reflect well on the club, on the people and on a professional like me.”
Andrada spoke of an “extreme situation” in which he had “lost his temper”. Although he ruled out a repeat of such a scene, he also announced that he would “abide by the decisions of La Liga”. And it’s a tough one, as has been official since Wednesday afternoon: the disciplinary commission handed down a twelve-match ban, after which Andrada must also serve the penalty for his yellow-red card – making a total of 13 games.
Five regular match days are still to be played in Spain’s lower division. Real Zaragoza have their backs to the wall after the derby defeat, but still have every chance of avoiding relegation given that they are just three points behind the drop zone (Cadiz, 38 points). However, Andrada (27 league appearances) cannot be of any help here.
Also penalties for Tasende and Jimenez
In the turmoil following the punch, Andrada’s teammate Dani Tasende and Huesca’s Dani Jimenez also received a red card. Tasende has now been retrospectively suspended for two games by the disciplinary committee, while Jimenez will have to sit out four games due to his aggressive behavior.
