Andres Iniesta should find out on Wednesday if he is to be punished by UEFA for allegedly getting deliberately booked during his side’s recent Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Barcelona midfielder is in danger of missing next week’s Champions League first leg semi-final showdown against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu if the ban sticks.
Yellow peril: Barcelona have appealed UEFA’s ban for Andres Iniesta over an alleged deliberate booking
Officials at the match alleged Iniesta provoked the card so he could serve the standard one-match ban in the second leg and would have a clean slate for the semi-finals
The Spain World Cup winner was cautioned for not retreating the required distance at a free-kick, meaning he missed the return game in Ukraine.
But Barca refute the claims and have decided to appeal UEFA’s proposed ban.
Waiting game: Iniesta could now miss the first leg semi-final showdown against Real Madrid
‘FC Barcelona believe that the arguments outlined in their appeal, based on the good faith of the player and the disproportionate nature of the proposed sanction will be sufficient to rebut these allegations,’ the club said on their official website.
‘The UEFA disciplinary committee will make a decision on the case on Wednesday.’
Barcelona face La Liga rivals Real Madrid in the last four of Europe’s premier club competition with the first leg away at the Bernabeu on April 27.
