La Liga: Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman given 2-match touchline ban

It seems that Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has no end of troubles.

Koeman received a two-match ban on Friday for complaining at the end of Barcelona’s 0-0 draw at Cadiz in the Spanish league the day before. The result extended Barcelona’s winless streak to three matches and increased the pressure on Koeman.

One of the reasons that upset the Dutch coach was the sending off of midfielder Frenkie de Jong after a second yellow card earlier in the match. Barcelona argued that De Jong touched the ball before contacting his opponent and shouldn’t have been booked.

Koeman said, “in this country they send you off for nothing.”

Koeman will miss Barcelona’s home match against Levante in the Spanish league on Sunday, as well as the team’s visit to defending champion Atletico Madrid next weekend.

Barcelona, who are seventh in the standings with nine points from five games, said they would appeal to reduce Koeman’s ban to one game.

Barcelona’s poor results have heaped pressure on Koeman, whose future at the club has come under doubt.

Barcelona will visit Benfica next Wednesday in the Champions League after opening its European campaign with a 3-0 home loss against Bayern Munich.

Club President Joan Laporta had backed Koeman as manager before Thursday’s match but also said he had to start producing better football and the board would not shirk tough decisions if needed.

Koeman was hired by former president Josep Bartomeu shortly after the team’s embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League last year.

The Catalan club is playing without Lionel Messi for the first time in nearly two decades after he joined Paris Saint-Germain because of Barcelona’s financial struggles. It also lost forward Antoine Griezmann to Atlético Madrid.