Barcelona lose appeal over Ronald Koeman & Frenkie de Jong red cards
By Tom Gott
Barcelona have lost their appeal over the red cards shown to midfielder Frenkie de Jong and manager Ronald Koeman in Thursday's 0-0 draw with Cadiz.
De Jong was dismissed for two yellow cards shortly after the hour mark, the second of which has divided opinion. Koeman was left visibly frustrated by the dismissal, and his temper boiled over late on as he was shown a red card of his own for protesting against the referee.
Barcelona appealed both decisions, believing both were unjust, but according to TV3, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears and De Jong and Koeman have seen their suspensions upheld.
De Jong has been given a one-game ban, which rules him out of Sunday's visit of Levante, while Koeman has a two-game suspension to deal with and will miss the following trip to Atletico Madrid... assuming he's actually still in charge at that point.
Sources have confirmed to 90min that Barcelona are already working on walking away from Koeman, who is not expected to have a job beyond the Levante game and is highly unlikely to still be associated with the club once October's international break comes to a close.
While Koeman will obviously still be involved in managing the team during his suspension, we may well have seen him in the Camp Nou dugout for the final time.
The search is on for a potential replacement for Koeman. Xavi remains a popular choice but he is hesitant to commit just yet, while those in charge have also looked at Andrea Pirlo, Antonio Conte, Phillip Cocu and Roberto Martinez.
Leicester's Brendan Rodgers remains on the radar, while recent links have also named Reims' Oscar Garcia as a potential option.
The Barcelona chiefs want somebody capable of coming in and making an immediate change, rather than somebody to simply steady the ship, but tensions are riding high at Camp Nou and there is a feeling that the decision-makers may not wait to strip Koeman of his job.