Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernández and players Gavi and Raphinha will not be able to take part in the club’s next league match against Valencia in Barcelona, report Catalan news outlet Mundo Deportivo.
All three were yellow-carded in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat away to Almería. Xavi and Gavi were booked during the La Liga fixture for protesting. Referee Ortiz Arias showed Xavi a yellow card in the 51st minute and he won’t be in the dugout for the fixture on March 5.
As it was the fifth caution in the league for all three of them, they will all be suspended for one match – next Sunday’s clash at Camp Nou against Los Che, who recorded a vital win over Real Sociedad on Saturday night.
After the weekend’s fixtures, Barcelona sit top of La Liga, seven points ahead of Real Madrid in second place. The win for Almería moves Rubi’s side out of the bottom three.
Kieran Quaile | GSFN
