The 4-0 win over Sevilla should have been a great game for Barcelona. The Blaugrana enjoyed a huge victory, they earned their first clean sheet at home in La Liga, and the likes of Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele scored after shaking off injuries.
However, two sending offs spoiled the night, Dembele’s one in particular. First, Ronald Araujo was sent off with only three minutes left on normal time. Immediately afterward, the Blaugrana’s French attacker was also given his marching orders for showing dissent.
It was initially thought that the former Dortmund sensation insulted the referee. It did not take too long for the 21-year-old’s actual comment to emerge.
"Eres muy malo", which translates to “you are very bad”, is what Ousmane said to match official Mateu Lahoz. The referee confirmed this in his report regarding the player’s sending off, adding that the attacker made this remark “while gesturing with his arms”.
Official: Lahoz has noted the following in his referee report regarding Dembélé's red card - He told me that I'm 'very bad, very very very bad, while gesturing with his arms'. pic.twitter.com/oRAJS3FvH2
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 6, 2019
Now on @MovistarFutbol they’re showing that Dembele said “very bad”. Got a red for that.
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) October 6, 2019
Many were quick to bash the official for this decision, claiming that this was a soft reason to send off the Frenchman. To make things worse, Dembele was not shown a second yellow but a straight red, which means he could be facing a two-match ban.
The Catalan giants will likely appeal but the odds of overturning a suspension are against them. Barcelona’s next two league games are a trip to Eibar and a home clash with Real Madrid, which means Valverde could be without his winger for the first Clasico of the season.
