Barcelona appeal proposed Iniesta ban

Posted Tuesday, April 19, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

MADRID (AFP) - Barcelona have appealed a UEFA proposal to suspend Andres Iniesta from the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash with Real Madrid.

UEFA will decide Wednesday whether to ban the Barcelona midfielder for an extra match for allegedly incurring a yellow card on purpose, Barcelona said in a statement on their website.

Iniesta picked up the yellow card during Barcelona's commanding 5-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk at Camp Nou on April 6 meaning he missed the return leg but would have a clean sheet for the following match.

But UEFA match officials at the Barcelona-Shakhtar game issued a report alleging Iniesta picked up the yellow card deliberately, Barcelona said in the statement late Monday.

The proposed suspension would would force Iniesta to miss the Champions League match at the Bernabeu stadium on April 27.

"FC Barcelona have this evening submitted an appeal to UEFA against the proposed imposition of an additional game suspension for Andres Iniesta following the yellow card he picked up against Shakhtar at the Nou Camp on April 6th," the club said.

"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."