Barcelona coach Hansi Flick took responsibility for his two-game ban on the sidelines on Saturday, admitting he “needs to improve my emotional control” after his red card against Real Betis.
Flick was sent off in the 66th minute of Barça's 2-2 LaLiga draw at Betis last weekend for disputing the referee's decision to award the home team a penalty because Frenkie de Jong had challenged Vitor Roque.
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The result meant leaders Barça had dropped points in four of their last five league games and will now be without Flick for their game against Leganés on Sunday and against Atlético Madrid the following weekend.
“My reaction wasn’t right,” said Flick in a press conference on Saturday before the game against Leganés. “At the beginning of the season I told the team not to complain about referees. We don't want to waste our energy on things we can't change. If a referee makes a decision, we can’t change it.”
Referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz's report said Flick was sent off for “yelling, gesturing and protesting against a decision”, although the German coach denied his reaction was directed at the referee. Barça tried unsuccessfully to appeal the verdict.
“We have to accept the red card,” said Flick. “It's hard for me but it's a different league, I just arrived and got a red card, I accept it. Maybe I need to work on my behavior.”
“All I want is for the referees to do the same thing in every game with other teams… We are all human and we make mistakes. I accept that and I have to control my emotions better, that is my responsibility.”
Flick's suspension means assistant coach Marcus Sorg will replace the head coach on the Montjuïc sidelines.
“Marcus is a coach with a lot of experience,” said Flick. “He has great football knowledge. I believe in him and he has the quality to do it tomorrow.”
Barcelona bounced back from their draw at Betis with a thrilling 3-2 away win at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.
They were also boosted by the return of defender Ronald Araújo – who is yet to play this season after undergoing surgery for a hamstring injury in July – while Andreas Christensen and Ansu Fati have also trained with teammates this week.
“At the moment I can’t say whether [Araújo] “But the plan is that he will play a few minutes,” said Flick. How long? We'll see what we decide with the first eleven. Maybe he'll be there, but if not, the plan is for him to play.
Barça go into this weekend's LaLiga games two points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who still have a game in hand and play Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
