It wasn't the best day for Colombia's full-back Johan Mojica. This Saturday his Elche team lost in home condition 1 to 0 against Valencia for the 29th date of La Liga de España. Five minutes into the second half, the player called up by Reinaldo Rueda for the double knockout date against Bolivia and Venezuela, lost the mark and Portuguese Gonçalo Guedes scored the only match goal.
When the match was over, Mojica, at the 91st minute of the game, saw the direct red card, after insulting the referee of the engagement, the Madrid referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias. According to the referee's report, it was because the Colombian called him a “bastard”.
In this way, the Colombian player is exposed to a minimum penalty of four matches for insulting the referee and could reach up to 12 punishment matches. Mojica will at least miss the matches against Athletic, Real Sociedad, Mallorca and Real Betis. His teammate, Argentinian Javier Pastore, had already been punished with several games after an insult to Barcelona earlier this month in the 1-2 defeat.
According to article 94 of the Spanish Football Disciplinary Code: “Insulting, offending or addressing in terms or attitudes insulting the main referee, assistants, fourth official, managers or sports authorities, unless it constitutes a more serious offense, shall be punished with suspension of four to twelve matches”.
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Regarding the game, Mojica's team tried to react, after the conceded goal, monopolizing possession of the ball, but Valencia, well planted, did not give the least option of jeopardizing their goal. The match was balanced with the passing of the minutes, especially in the midfield, without the strikers having hardly any prominence.
After scoring, Valencia, who gained dynamism with the changes, also enjoyed more spaces and brushed the scoring sentence in clear shots by Cheryshev and Maxi Gomez. Elche, despite losing direct red to Mojica in the last minutes, tried to seek a draw with direct play until the end, but Valencia, despite the hardships, resisted and knew how to protect their advantage.
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Mojica, who will now travel to Barranquilla to join the Colombia National Team to face the last two rounds of World Cup qualifiers, despite having been expelled with the direct red card, will not be saved from the four yellows he has in La Liga, one of which will receive the sanction for a date that is customary for the championship Spanish after five reprimands.
Valencia with the victory reached ninth place with 40 points and struggles to get into the European Cup places, seven behind Real Sociedad who ranks sixth. While Elche, where former Deportivo Cali player Helibelton Palacios also plays, is in 14th position with 32 units, eight units behind the relegation zone. Elche's next match in the championship will be on the road to Athletic Bilbao, while the Ches will host Cadiz.
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