Barcelona will appeal Xavi’s sending-off against Atletico Madrid – report

Even on a night when many of Barcelona’s star players were absent from the starting XI, the Catalan giants cruised past Atletico Madrid with an assertive 3-0 victory in hostile territory.

The result and performance ignited great optimism for the team, considering their past struggles and the fact that they now have a legitimate chance of making something of this season.

But coach Xavi Hernandez’s dismissal from the sidelines, just before the first half was drawn to a close, smeared what was nearly a perfect outing for the Catalan giants.

Minutes after Joao Felix opened the scoring with a sidefoot finish at the far post, Xavi received a yellow card for furiously objecting that Pablo Barrios’ foul on Ilkay Gundogan went unpunished.

Just a few moments afterward, Xavi raised his voice once more. And this time he was ordered to leave the dugout, with the referee giving him his marching orders.

Barcelona will appeal Xavi’s expulsion

Reports have recently made the case that the 44-year-old could miss up to a whopping three games, which would mean an absence against Las Palmas, Cadiz, and the all-important Clasico vs Real Madrid.

However, the Blaugranes believe the treatment by the Spanish refereeing federation towards Xavi is unfounded, and they are willing to appeal the expulsion, reports SPORT.

Barcelona will appeal against Xavi’s expulsion. (Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)

Initially, Barcelona were not planning to lodge an appeal against the sending-off and were prepared to accept the decision of the Competitions Committee.

However, they have now changed their mind and will appeal against Xavi’s expulsion to try and turn over the manager’s suspension.

After being sent off against Getafe on the opening day of the season, this is Xavi’s second red card of the campaign.

In the event Xavi is not given the permission to return before he serves his ban, Oscar Hernandez, his brother, and assistant manager will lead the team in the upcoming games against Las Palmas and Cadiz from the sidelines.

Even though there are no La Liga games this week, the Competition Committee will convene on Wednesday to discuss open cases from the previous matchday because there will be second-division games to be played the following weekend.