FC Barcelona: Why Andres Iniesta Booking Appeal Is Justifiable

FC Barcelona filed an appeal to the Competition Committee of La Liga BBVA for the yellow card issued to Andres Iniesta. The yellow card was issued to Iniesta during the match (68 minutes) between Blaugrana and Real Betis which took place last Sunday.

The news was published on the FC Barcelona Web site. Iniesta received the yellow card from Iglesias-Villanueva (referee) secondary to diving.

The evidence presented by La Blaugrana included a video clip which shows Iniesta being fouled by a defender. The video (which was published on YouTube) shows Jefferson Montero (No. 20 of Real Betis) tripping Iniesta as he was kicking the ball.

There were no incidents of diving and/or drama on the part of Iniesta. The video offers proof why the appeal by La Blaugrana is justifiable.

According to "The Laws of the Game" published by FIFA,  the referee should have awarded a direct free kick to La Blaugrana. This was not the case according to certain members of the Barca team.

Xavi Hernandez went as far as to say that decisions by referees are going against La Blaugrana. Hernandez made his declarations in a press conference published on the La Liga BBVA Web site.

While it may appear farfetched the idea of referee bias, what happened to Iniesta (during the FC Barcelona vs. Real Betis match) was wrong. It remains to be seen whether La Liga will overturn the yellow card or not.