Football: two match suspension for a Getafe player who pinched his opponent’s private parts

Alfonso Perez Burrull, the Atlético Madrid-Getafe referee this Saturday, probably never imagined giving a red card after such an action. In the 55th minute of the La Liga match, the official was called by the VAR to review a gesture that he had not noticed. And he had to face the facts: Abdel Abqar had to be excluded.

The Getafe defender had just pinched the private parts of Alexander Sorloth, the Atlético Madrid striker. A gesture which surprised the Norwegian, who then pulled his opponent by the arm and sent him to the ground. He also received a yellow card for this unsporting gesture.

After the meeting, Abdel Abqar assured that he wanted to “touch the stomach” of his opponent and not his penis. “I have never seen a player who gets sent off for that, these are actions that we see all the time and I do not believe that he grabbed his testicles,” said his coach Pepe Bordalas.

La Liga has decided to impose a severe sanction on the Moroccan defender, guilty of “unsporting conduct”. He will be suspended for his team’s next two matches, against Espanyol Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.