The Committee of Discipline has rejected Elche’s appeal and upheld the sanction that prevents coach Eder Sarabia from occupying the bench for the upcoming fixture with RCD Espanyol. The suspension follows a fifth yellow card received for protesting in the match at Athletic Bilbao.
Elche will be without their manager at pitchside for this Primera División match, a development that arrives while the club is performing poorly in 2026. Reports note he may watch the game from a private box or a press area; those are presented as possibilities rather than confirmed facts.
Context and squad consequences
Sarabia’s exclusion comes after earlier disciplinary problems this season, including a two-match ban after an expulsion at El Sadar that caused him to miss games against Celta and Alavés, and a sending-off in the Copa del Rey at La Cartuja. The Committee dismissed Elche’s claim of a material error in the referee’s report.
Separately, Yago de Santiago received a two-match suspension for protesting and will miss both the Espanyol and Villarreal fixtures. A clerical anomaly in a report recorded a red-card minute as ‘999’ for de Santiago; that entry has been noted in club records and reporting around the case.
