Sevilla midfielder Fernando has taken to social media to apologise after being sent off late in their 3-2 defeat at home to Osasuna on Sunday night.
Fernando was shown a direct red card in the fourth minute of stoppage time for apparently insulting assistant referee José Carlos Escuela Melo. The Brazilian is expected to be out for a minimum of four games, as Article 99 of the regulations states that a player could be banned for 4-12 matches for insulting an official.
In what was Sevilla’s second defeat of the week, Fernando endured a torrid evening. Having already scored an own goal in the 67th minute, things went from bad to worse with the red card.
Fernando apologised via an Instagram story, as transcribed by AS:
“Yesterday was my first direct red for Sevilla. I made a mistake, as a victim of nerves and in the heat of the moment. I want to apologize to the refereee Juan Luis Pulido Santana and the rest of his team for my inappropriate words, which in no way represent the deep respect I have for the arbitration team.”
Fernando admitted his mistake and also apologised to the club, his teammates and the coaching staff, saying that, “it is not the image that should be given on a football field.”
A four-game ban would see Fernando miss fixtures against Atlético Madrid, Almería, Getafe and Cádiz, seeing him ruled out of all of Sevilla’s La Liga games in March.
Roddur Mookherjee | GSFN
