Real Madrid were forced to continue their La Liga title defence the hard way on Sunday.
An eventful first half during the 1-0 victory over Deportivo Alaves had already seen Raul Asencio’s effort ruled out by VAR and Eduardo Camavinga score his first league goal since 2021/22 before Kylian Mbappe was shown a red card for a horrific challenge on former Madrid academy product Antonio Blanco.
The Frenchman, supposedly frustrated by a series of fouls not given in his favour during the opening 38 minutes in Vitoria, collided with Blanco at full tilt, raking his studs aggressively down the midfielder’s shin. Surprisingly, referee Cesar Soto Grado only dished out a yellow card on first view, but after visiting the pitch-side monitor courtesy of VAR, he unsurprisingly upgraded Mbappe’s booking to a red card.
Fortunately for the Madrid striker, his idiotic dismissal didn’t prove costly against Alaves, who were later reduced to ten men themselves, but the 26-year-old will now spend some time on the sidelines as he serves his suspension.
Here’s how long Mbappe could be banned for after Sunday’s horror challenge.
Mbappe was widely lamented for his disgusting foul on Sunday but the punishment for such an offence may be unbelievably short. According to Spanish outlet COPE, the forward will receive just a one-match ban as he was considered to be going for the ball when clashing with Blanco.
In La Liga, red card challenges deemed to use “excessive force” – the term applied to Mbappe’s lunge in the referee’s post-match report – only merit a one to three game suspension for the perpetrator.
A ban of three games or fewer only applies to La Liga, however. The suspension doesn’t carry over to the Copa del Rey or Champions League, much to the disappointment of Arsenal supporters ahead of Wednesday’s quarter-final second leg.
There remains a chance that Mbappe is banned for longer than three games, though. If it’s retrospectively deemed his tackle was “violent conduct”, then he could be suspended for anywhere between four and 12 matches. Bans of four games or greater are also served in the Copa del Rey, which would see Mbappe sit out the upcoming final against Barcelona.
If the aforementioned report from COPE is correct and Mbappe serves a one-game suspension, then he will only be absent for this Sunday’s La Liga clash with Athletic Club. With Madrid in desperate need of points as they chase down table toppers Barcelona, the striker’s absence could prove detrimental against the division’s fourth-placed outfit.
Regardless of the length of Mbappe’s suspension, he will be available to play in the Champions League clash with Arsenal this Wednesday. He would also be able to feature in subsequent European matches should Madrid progress to the semi-finals.
A ban of three games would see him sit out Madrid’s next three league fixtures – Athletic Club (H), Getafe (A) and Celta Vigo (H) – but a four-game suspension would mean he’s unable to be selected for the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on 26 April.
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