"I am very sorry": punches, expulsions, and a historic brawl in the derby between Huesca and Zaragoza
The match, key for salvation, turns into a pitched battle with multiple footballers involved, including the goalkeepers of both teams
Huesca and Real Zaragoza arrived at the 37th matchday of the Second Division with the urgent need to score points in an increasingly suffocating period of the season. The team from the Aragonese capital is in the lower zone, very close to a relegation that would be as historic as it would be dramatic. And Huesca also fails to distance itself from danger. In this context, the Aragonese derby presented itself as an especially delicate fixture, with the feeling that a defeat could have decisive consequences in the fight for permanence.
The match, played in Huesca, began with maximum equality and a growing atmosphere of tension as the minutes passed. Huesca, more solid in the overall duel, even had a penalty in the first half that Òscar Sielva from Olot did not convert. In the second half, the local team took a step forward and ended up winning 1-0, with another penalty that this time the midfielder from Garrotxa did convert and left Zaragoza even more affected. The goal pushed the visitors to seek a draw, with the match progressively entering an increasingly open and uncontrolled phase.
In added time, a VAR review for an incident without the ball in play led to a historic brawl. The referee's decision resulted in the expulsion of Tasende, from Saragossa, which ignited tempers and led to protests from the visiting team. With play stopped and the atmosphere already very heated, Esteban Andrada complained about the incident to the referee and confronted Jorge Pulido, who was reprimanding him for his protests. Andrada pushed Pulido, for which he saw red, and, just after being sent off, ran towards Pulido again to assault him with a strong punch.
From here, the match devolved into a brawl with multiple players involved. Amidst the chaos, Huesca's goalkeeper, Dani Jiménez, was also sent off, as the referee had already completely lost control of a match that ended with Huesca winning 1-0. A result absolutely overshadowed by the final incidents. Saragossa remains in the relegation zone with 35 points, and Huesca has 36.
"I am very sorry"
After the match, Real Zaragoza condemned the incidents in an official statement: “It does not represent the club’s values and we will open an internal investigation into what happened”. Andrada has also asked for public apologies: “I am very sorry. I lost control and I apologize”, said the goalkeeper, who has fully accepted his mistake. “It is not a good image for the club or for me as a professional”, admitted the Zaragoza player, who tried to contextualize his reaction, without justifying it: “Throughout my career, I have only been sent off once, and it was for touching the ball with my hand. It was a limit situation and I reacted badly”.
In the disciplinary field, the regulations of the Royal Spanish Football Federation provide for sanctions of between four and twelve matches for aggressions committed with the game stopped or without the possibility of intervention in the play. In these cases, the criterion can be extended if there are aggravating circumstances, such as the seriousness of the action or if an injury occurs. In the case of Esteban Andrada, the punishment could be increased by the double action recorded in the referee’s report – the aggression against Jorge Pulido and the previous expulsion –. If an injury to the Huesca player is confirmed, the sanction could be at the highest end of the scale or even exceed it.
