Florentino: “This week I have learnt that spending 300 million euros in signings doesn’t bring happiness….”

“…that’s why this summer I’m spending 500 million euros”

“Not that I’m proud of what I did. I can understand the expulsion, but if we decide to contest (the ruling) it was because Mr. Clos (referee) and Mr. Gallego (assistant-referee) lied, and they know it,” was the straight-forward criticism made by FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola – a rarity, it has to be said – of the match report submitted by the said match referee (Almeria match on 6th March) to the Spanish Liga Discipline and Appeals Committee that saw the seldom-complaining coach missing the match against Valencia tomorrow night, in the la Liga pre-match press conference today.

In the match report, Guardiola was said to have protested incessantly to the assistant referee, complaining about the referee’s inconsistent decisions using word, among others, such as “you whistle at everything the other way round,” when in reality – according to Sport through a video recording, the coach only protested one event – an incident that involves Messi, complaining “He pushes him (Messi), pushes him! Referee, did you not see that he was pushed?”

While he felt unjustly punished, Guardiola however said he is not overly worried about the injustices handed down to him saying “Because I’m not that important (to the team’s set-up),” and admitted that he does not feel that he is being targeted by match officials – this being his second red-card this season, the first was against Malaga on 27th February at the Camp Nou by referee Rubinos Perez, according to the paper.

“There will be more expulsions, because I am so impulsive. From time to time I will try to put common sense (into these officials) because it is in my character.”