A 'black' afternoon for Ferran Torres, who was controversially sent off

Published:15/09/2024 - 20:49h

Updated:15/09/2024 - 20:50h

Ferran Torres was the only negative note for Barça against Girona. The forward came off the bench to refresh his attacking skills, and was sent off after 17 minutes for a hard tackle on Yaser Asprilla

It was not Ferran Torres' afternoon at Montilivi. It seemed like a perfect day for FC Barcelona against Girona, with the Catalans scoring and enjoying themselves against one of their 'black beasts' from last season and clinging even more to the top of the championship. The sensations in the team were, and are, magnificent, but the player from Foios was in charge of putting the only 'stain' on the game with an action that can be debated.

The 'Shark' entered the field of play at 69' in substitution of Lewandowski, and just 17 minutes later, with the duel decided and in a situation that apparently did not represent any danger for those directed by Hansi Flick, the forward entered with his foot raised at the height of the lower part of Yaser Asprilla's shin. An unnecessary tackle by the player, who protested but was aware of the aggressiveness of the attack on the Colombian.

The referee's 'controversial' decision

Although Ferran's clash was clearly not malicious, and the card could even be considered 'orange' and in other matches it probably wouldn't have been penalised, Muñír Ruiz didn't hesitate for a second to show him a direct red card without needing the help of the VAR.

However, the main referee's decision has not been free of controversy. And in matchday three, in the duel between Rayo Vallecano and Barça, Pathé Ciss gave Pedri a similar foul, although at that time the referee César Soto Grado only punished that infringement with a yellow card.

The Canary Islander spoke about this at the end of the match at the Girona fiefdom, making it clear that the referee's decision leaves room for doubt due to the differences of criteria when sanctioning infringements such as the one committed by Torres. "It's a play similar to the one Ciss did to me at Rayo and they didn't send him off. I'll have to watch it again. There are times when they don't whistle the same thing," said González.

Ferran Torres joins a 'black' list

With his expulsion against Girona, Ferran Torres became the second player in the history of the Blaugrana team to be sent off twice after coming on as a substitute in LaLiga, since he experienced a similar situation against Atlético de Madrid two seasons ago, joining Thiago Motta on the list. In addition, his red card was the first shown to the Catalan team this season.

In this way, the Valencian will not be available for Hansi Flick on Barça's visit to the Estadio de la Cerámica, where they will face the always difficult Villarreal next Sunday, September 22. However, the German will surely be able to count on Ansu Fati, whose return to the first team could take place on Thursday 19 September against AS Monaco in the Champions League.