Diego Percan, during his red card incident against Granada at El Arcángel.
/ MANUEL MURILLO
Miguel Heredia, Córdoba
The final stretch of LaLiga Hypermotion is tightening once again for Córdoba CF under Iván Ania. Just weeks after gaining some relief with an almost clear infirmary—beyond the permanent absences of Adilson and Fomeyem, plus the setback of Isma Ruiz—the team now faces a fresh wave of complications involving injuries, suspensions, and disciplinary risks.
Looking ahead to Friday’s clash against Albacete at El Arcángel (21:00 local time), the Asturian coach will be without the suspended Diego Percan. Uncertainty surrounds Adrián Fuentes and Isma Ruiz—the latter still hampered by adductor discomfort—while Del Moral is also unavailable. Additionally, Ania must manage the disciplinary risk of Dani Requena, who picked up his ninth yellow card of the season against Granada and now sits just one booking away from completing a second cycle, in the midst of a sprint for playoff qualification.
In short, the margin for error—beyond the standings—has become even narrower.
**The Percan controversy**
The most immediate absence is that of the León-born forward, who was sent off in the closing stages of the derby against Granada by referee Sergiu Muresan Muresan. The match report stated that Percan was punished for “pulling the hair of an opponent (Izan), bringing him to the ground while the ball was in dispute.”
Pending the final decision from the Disciplinary Committee and the exact length of the ban, the striker will miss at least the match against Albacete. However, the suspension could extend to one of the last two league games, where Córdoba CF will visit Eibar at Ipurúa (Sunday, May 24, 18:30 local time) before closing the regular season against Huesca at El Arcángel.
Hours after the match, Percan fueled the debate with a social media post expressing disagreement with the refereeing interpretation. “Regarding what happened today in the match, at no point did I intend to grab the Granada player by the hair. Especially knowing what was at stake… What we could do is change the rule and force players to play with their hair tied back, because now an attempted grab becomes an aggression,” he stated.
**Requena and the yellow-card risk**
Meanwhile, Córdoba remains constrained by the threat of accumulated bookings in this final stretch. The good news for Ania is the return of Theo Zidane, who has served his one-match ban for yellow-card accumulation and is available for Friday’s home fixture.
The disciplinary focus now shifts to Dani Requena. The midfielder, a key figure in the lineup and standout performer in the derby, received his ninth yellow card of the season against Granada, leaving him just one caution away from completing a second cycle.
He is not the only delicate case. Álex Martín and Christian Carracedo also remain on the verge of suspension, having played the last 10 and 20 consecutive matches, respectively, conditioned by the threat of one more booking.
