Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde given one-match ban for Supercopa final foul on Alvaro Morata

Valverde's foul denied Morata a clear chance to open the scoring in a game eventually decided by penalties
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Ben Hayward16 January 2020

Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde has been handed a one-match ban for his controversial foul on Atletico's Alvaro Morata in the final of the Spanish Supercopa last weekend.

Valverde was shown a straight red card for bringing down the striker with five minutes of extra time remaining in Saudi Arabia and his intervention was considered key as Los Blancos went on to win on penalties.

The 21-year-old, who was named as the competition's MVP, admitted afterwards that he had not been proud of the action and revealed he had apologised to Morata.

Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane called it a "crude foul" and Atletico boss Diego Simeone claimed the midfielder's action had "won the final" for Real. "He did what he had to do," the Argentine said. "Let's see how many games he is given."

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And the answer is, surprisingly, only one. The Uruguayan had looked set to receive a suspension of up to three matches, but given that the foul was not described as "violent" in the referee's report, he escapes with a single game.

Supercopa rules dictate that any suspensions will be served in the forthcoming matches, so Valverde will miss Saturday's LaLiga game at home to Sevilla, but will be available again for Madrid's Copa del Rey clash in Salamanca in midweek.

Atletico fans, needless to say, are not amused and many have vented their anger on social media.

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