Mbappé Scandal!: Can Barça keep him out of the Cup final?

Pending official confirmation from the RFEF Competition Committee regarding the sanction Kylian Mbappé will receive for the criminal tackle on Antonio Blanco in the Alavés-Real Madrid (0-3) match, everything indicates that the forward will only have to serve two or three match ban in LaLiga. Despite the malicious nature of the tackle and the damage it could have caused to his opponent, César Soto Grado manipulated the match report to spare the '9' from an exemplary sanction.

In this regard, Miguel Galan, president of the National Center for Football Coaches Training of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of the Government of Spain (CENAFE), explains that Barça, as a finalist in the Cup, can request the RFEF for an appeal that prevents Mbappé from playing the match at La Cartuja, this in case, as will probably happen, 'Kiki' avoids a sanction of more than 3 matches.

Barça has the evidence to demand an exemplary punishment for Mbappé

For this, the Blaugrana team must provide "the video of the action, as the holder of legitimate rights and interests affected by the sanction that may be imposed on him, in the terms required by article 33.4 of Royal Decree 1591/1992". In principle, the decision of the Competition Committee will be announced this Wednesday, before Madrid's match against Arsenal in the Champions League.

It states that "any person or entity whose legitimate rights or interests may be affected by the prosecution of a sports disciplinary procedure may appear in it, having, from then on and for the purposes of notifications and the proposal and practice of evidence, the consideration of interested party", explains the president of CENAFE on his X account.

Barça can allege manipulation in Soto Grado's report

According to Soto Grado's report, Mbappé was sent off for "entering with his foot in the form of a stud at the height of an opponent's shin, in the dispute of the ball, using excessive force". However, the images show that the forward went straight for his rival's tibia, with no intention of disputing the ball. The only thing that exempts the '9' of Madrid from a sanction of 4 or more matches is that Antonio Blanco was able to continue on the field, which is why it is classified as a violent action without serious injury consequences.

And a lesion of the Spanish footballer, automatically, would have condemned the French international for the rest of the season in League and Cup. In this regard, Miguel Galan recalls that "article 260 of the General Regulations of the RFEF mentions that the referee must 'write the match report faithfully, concisely, clearly, objectively and completely'", something that evidently did not happen in the Alavés-Barça match.

Finally, it would be up to the Competition Committee to determine whether or not there was a material error in the drafting of the report, assessing whether the video and images coincide with the referee's criterion of stating that Mbappé's tackle occurred in the dispute of the ball and not as a manifest aggression. "The referee's reports enjoy a presumption of iuris tantum veracity, which may be, consequently, disproved when the existence of a manifest material error is proven," adds Galan.