Soccer Extreme : Barcelona have submitted an appeal to the Competitions Committee after Lionel Messi was cautioned and handed a €2,000 (£1,725) fine for displaying a birthday message to his mother in the weekend win over Racing.Messi slotted home a penalty kick in the win and lifted his jersey to reveal ‘Feliz Cumple, Mami’ - ‘Happy Birthday, Mum’ - to the crowd and television cameras.
However, this has been deemed to be an over-exuberant celebration and the Argentine was retrospectively handed the fine and associated booking.
The Nou Camp club have however decided to contest the decision on the basis that the 23-year-old’s celebration was not offensive or inflammatory, and promoted a positive social message such as family values.
Barca are confident that there is a precedent set, with Espanyol attacker Jose Callejon’s initial penalty for revealing a tribute message to late colleague Daniel Jarque last September eventually being quashed. (metro)