MADRID, 27 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish midfielder Sergio Canales, currently at Mexican club Monterrey, will not have to serve the remaining three-match suspension for the statements he made after a match about the already former referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz, after the ordinary justice system has given him the reason.
“The ordinary justice has ruled in favor of Sergio Canales in the case of the sanction for his statements about the former referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz on February 18 and he will not have to serve the three pending sanction matches (he served one) and the fine of €601 ultimately imposed by the TAD, which could still be appealed,” they said from 'Best of you', Sergio Canales' communication agency.
The footballer, then at Betis, was sanctioned by the Royal Spanish Football Federation for four matches for declaring at the end of the match against Valladolid that Mateu Lahoz had sent him off in the duel against Cádiz in a premeditated manner.
Despite the appeals, both the Appeals Committee and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAD) confirmed the punishment to the Cantabrian, but Betis went to the Contentious-Administrative Court number 4 of Madrid, which granted them precautionary measures until the ruling. definitive.
The court, as pointed out by Canales' agency, “understands that the principles of typicality, guilt and presumption of innocence” of the midfielder have been violated, “motivated by an error of expression and interpretation in the player's statements”, so decided to uphold the appeal and annul a sanction that was not in accordance with the law. In this way, the Spanish player will be able to compete with Monterrey in the next Clausura 2024 Championship without any type of sanction.
“I have always said that my behavior with the referees on and off the field has been exemplary, showing them maximum respect throughout my professional career. That has been the case since I debuted in 2008 and that is how it continues to be now in the Mexican league. For this reason, I I am happy that justice has been done,” Canales celebrated.
The Cantabrian assured that his “conscience has always been very clear” because he was clear that he had not made “any mistake in the treatment of the arbitration team.” “If he had done so, he would have apologized immediately,” he said, thanking Betis, his representation agency and Laffer Abogados for having “fought” for him “to the last consequences.”