David Silva

Real Sociedad playmaker David Silva is suspended for the La Ligavisit to Rayo Vallecano. David Silva will serve the second of his two-match ban after his red card during the recent league game with Real Betis earlier in the month.

David Silva was given a red card in the third minute of stoppage time during the home game with Betis which ended in a goalless draw. He was given the first red card of his La Liga careerafter a melee happened in the final moments of the game.

Silva was sent off by centre referee Isidro Diaz de MeraEscuderos after he reacted angrily to his failure to give his team a foul towards the end of the game.

Spanish football federation (RFEF) disciplinary board then decided to increase his punishment from the mandatory one-match ban to a two-match ban for non-violent dismissal as revealed by media outlet Diario Sport. In his post-match report, Escuderos said that David Silva told him to ‘go to hell’ during a furious exchange between the pair.

As a result of the two-match ban, David Silva was absent for the 1-0 home league defeat to Barcelona last week with the only goal of the game coming in the first half courtesy Pierre-EmerickAubameyang. He will also miss the Rayo Vallecano game in La Liga this weekend as revealed earlier. Silva is expected to return to the Real Sociedad squad for the away game against Levante next week Friday.

The return of Silva to the Real Sociedad squad next week would be a big boost as the Basque outfit is still in contention for a Champions League spot. Real Sociedad are six points off Atletico Madrid in fourth spot with five league games left to play this season. Silva has an attacking return of one goal plus three assists in 22 league games this season.