Espanyol coach Manolo Gonzalez fears stadium ban after incident with referee

Espanyol's 2-1 defeat to Villarreal on Thursday night was overshadowed by a disappointing incident that occurred after the final whistle at the Stage Front Stadium. As he made his way to the tunnel after the game, field referee Alejandro Quintero Gonzalez was pelted with a bottle by an angry home fan.

The incident is expected to be reviewed in the coming days and there is a high chance that the perpetrator will be traced by the relevant authorities.

It is also likely that Espanyol will be punished, but head coach Manolo Gonzalez is desperate for a partial stadium closure, according to the MD.

“Let’s hope that’s not the case. I prefer not to talk about it because everything is a problem. We already know how everything works. Let’s hope they don’t close the stadium.”

Whether Espanyol will be punished over the incident will be announced soon. If so, they will want to avoid serious punishment, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they received exactly that punishment.