Marca: Betis will appeal against Anthony s red card and try to get him to play in next week s derby

According to "Marca", Betis will appeal against Anthony's red card and strive to let him participate in next week's derby.

Betis' legal team will lodge a complaint with the Spanish Football Federation's Disciplinary Committee against referee Ios Galechi's red card in Betis' match against Girona this afternoon. The red card means at least a one-match suspension, which will rule Anthony out of next weekend's derby.

Betis believes that the referee's initial yellow card penalty was correct when Anthony accidentally hit Joel Rocca in the face when he attempted a hook shot. The club considered the move neither excessive force nor what it termed "gross rough conduct". The Disciplinary Committee will rule on the appeal upon receipt and if the first ruling is unfavorable, the club may further appeal to the Grievance Committee.

After the game, Pellegrini defended the players and said: "From the field, Anthony kicked the opponent in the face unintentionally. I did not watch this action carefully." Betis captain Isco said: "He just went to fight for the ball and did not see the opponent. He did not kick with spikes. To the opponent, there was a ball in the middle, there was no malice, although it was a bit dangerous. "

"Whether it should be subject to VAR review in this case is a question. There are many such actions. The referee gave us the most severe penalties for both gray area actions. I don’t know if it was a coincidence or something. Anyway, we encountered the worst situation both times.”

Even Girona coach Michel, who benefited from this penalty, believed that the red card was too harsh: “I didn’t see that action. If he wanted to shoot, it is indeed somewhat controversial. It could be a red card from a VAR point of view, but it has to be taken into account that the player was trying to shoot and was not deliberately attacking, and I don't like to see players sent off for this situation." Betis hopes that the red card will be revoked or at least not considered an offensive act, otherwise he will face a ban of more than one game.

Referee Galecki previously awarded the opponent a penalty kick in Betis's away game against Espanyol. At that time, Valentin Gomez made slight contact with the opponent at the last minute, and the penalty kick was saved by Paul Lopez. He described Anthony's red card in today's report: "In the 90th minute, he was sent off with a direct red card for using excessive force to kick the opponent in the face while fighting for the ball."

Last season, Anthony was sent off with a direct red card in the game against Getafe, but after the Betis legal team successfully appealed, he was able to participate in the next game against Real Madrid. Now Betis will be hoping for another success that could see him feature in the derby against Sevilla.