Two key Cádiz players banned in a critical stage of the season
Very bad news for Cádiz and their fans, who have been informed of the consequences deriving from the multiple sending-offs in the recent match vs Getafe, which ended 2-2.
Cádiz were extremely close to another crucial win until a penalty was given against them in the 16th minute of added time which allowed Getafe to draw and for tensions to rise at the ‘Nuevo Mirandilla’.
As soon as the game was over, Iza Carcelén headed over to Juan Iglesias and slapped him in the back of his head, forcing the referee Hernández Hernández to send him off for that aggression. This caused a heated reaction from the fans, who began throwing all sorts of stuff to the pitch, likely aiming for the referee and the Getafe players.
The Cádiz players and coaching staff weren’t happy either and once they left the pitch and entered the inside of the stadium, there was more yelling towards the refs. In fact, it even got a little physical. Conan Ledesma pushed one of his teammates on purpose so he would collide onto Hernández Hernández, who was right next to him. That got him an immediate red card.
That wasn’t the only pushing and shoving towards the referees given Cadiz’s assistant coach, Diego Ribera, also did the same by pushing Hernández Hernández and his assistant ref. He too saw a red card, as well as Lolo Bocardo, Cádiz’s goalkeeping coach, who shouted “this is shameful” and “sons of b*****s” as well as threatening to approach the refs aggressively.
The committee in charge of imposing the sanctions has decided to ban Carcelén with a 3 game suspension, Ledesma with 4, Ribera with another 4 and Bocardo with 6.
This means Cádiz will miss both players in their matches against Almería, Sevilla and Betis. Three Andalusian derbies, two of them against direct rivals in the fight to avoid relegation. Ledesma will then miss a fourth against Real Madrid on Matchday 29.
This puts Sergio González in a very tight spot, given how important and consistent these players have been in recent weeks. To make matters worse, Fali is also suspended for the next match after seeing his 5th yellow card of the season against Getafe.
David Gil will now have to step up in Ledesma’s place in what will be a gargantuan task, given he’s only played 90 minutes this season in the Copa del Rey against Real Unión, in which he conceded 3 goals in a 3-2 defeat.
In fact, he’s only ever played 4 LaLiga matches. They all took place after Cádiz got promotion in 2020, with 3 defeats and 1 draw, conceding a total of 10 goals. Not great numbers, yet now he’ll have another chance to prove his worth.
On the other hand, Raúl Parra is Carcelén’s natural replacement for the right-back position, unless Sergio González decides to experiment with other players. Yet Parra has only played 31 minutes of LaLiga football this season since being called back from his loan to Mirandés, after Joseba Zaldua’s long-term injury.
Cádiz, currently 16th and 1 point away from the drop zone, will face a very difficult challenge in these next games without these two key players.