Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has sent out a strong warning to his players who are at risk of suspension ahead of the Champions League quarter-final tie against Atlético Madrid.
Four players — Lamine Yamal, Fermín López, Marc Casadó and Gerard Martín — will be suspended for the second leg if they pick up a yellow card at Camp Nou on Wednesday, and Flick has made it clear he won’t accept any silly business from those walking the tight rope.
“I won’t accept any arguments; we need to focus on the game.
I don’t want them arguing, and I want them to stay focused, without arguing with the referee. They [Atlético] also have a lot of cautions. It’s the same situation for them.”
Yellow cards are wiped after the quarter-finals so those four players will no longer be at risk of suspension if they avoid a booking in the two legs against Atlético and Barça manage to advance.
As Flick mentioned Atlético are also facing plenty of possible suspensions, with eight players (Marcos Llorente, Giuliano Simeone, Marc Pubill, Matteo Ruggeri, Pablo Barrios, Thiago Almada, Robin Le Normand and Clément Lenglet), five of them key starters, just one yellow card away from a ban.
