Audio of the head referee admitting that the red card to Flick was unjust has been leaked...

In a leaked audio by 'Jijantes', the president of the refereeing committee Luis Medina Cantalejo admits that the Barcelona coach "did nothing" to deserve the red card in the match against Betis, a scandalous expulsion that also cost him two matches of suspension. The coach was sent off for protesting the penalty awarded by the referee after a foul by Frenkie de Jong on Vitor Roque.

This is Medina Cantalejo's opinion, the highest authority of referees in Spain, regarding Hansi Flick's expulsion.

"Making all kinds of gestures, outrageous behavior, and here we are still joking in the tunnel. Giving high-fives, hugs, 'you're a star' or 'you're amazing'"

"And this week, I have to say, we saw the expulsion of a coach... May God come and see it!"

"We are enduring complaints all season, making gestures, protests of all kinds... I repeat, ten meters from the technical area. Waving arms, throwing bottles, everything... and swallowing it all"

"And now it turns out that for doing nothing, no matter how much I've seen it, damn, damn... You also have to have a bit of flexibility when these things happen"

Hansi Flick was sent off in the second half of the Betis-Barça match. The controversial red card came surprisingly after the referee, at the request of VAR, awarded a penalty for Frenkie de Jong's foul on Vitor Roque. The match report stated that the FC Barcelona coach had approached the main referee "leaving the technical area, shouting and gesticulating" in protest of one of his decisions.

DAZN cameras captured the moment

However, during the live broadcast of the match, what happened could not be seen. Fortunately, a DAZN camera did capture the moment and published the footage on its official channel on social media. The video sparked an immediate reaction from thousands of fans, who couldn't believe what had really happened.

And the gesture from Hansi Flick is so harmless that it goes unnoticed. In fact, the referee Muñiz Ruiz didn't even realize, but ended up expelling the Barcelona coach at the request of the fourth official.

And to top it all off... 2-match suspension

The Disciplinary Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) imposed a two-match suspension, in response to what was reflected in Muñiz Ruiz's report as: "for leaving the technical area, shouting and gesticulating, protesting one of my decisions".

In light of this, Barcelona filed an appeal with the Appeals Committee, arguing with evidence that the German coach at no time contested the referee's decision, but that his anger was directed at himself, as Hansi Flick explained in the post-match press conference.

The appeal was dismissed, just like the first instance (Disciplinary Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation), with the organization considering that the evidence presented does not clearly demonstrate that the action did not occur as described in Muñiz Ruiz's report.