Turmoil in Spain’s second division
Punch in the face: Ex-national player freaks out
Updated April 27, 2026 – 12:04 amReading time: 2 minutes
Unsightly scenes in the Spanish second division. Argentina’s former international Esteban Andrada causes a scandal.
Goalkeeper Esteban Andrada from Real Zaragoza caused a scandal in the second Spanish football league. After a yellow-red card in stoppage time in the derby at SD Huesca, the 35-year-old hit his opponent Jorge Pulido with full force in the face, triggering a violent pack formation. Andrada, who is on loan from CF Monterrey, is now facing a long ban.
Both teams are in acute danger of relegation in La Liga 2. Huesca moved past Zaragoza with a 1-0 home win.
What exactly happened? The referee wanted to check a scene on the VAR screen in the 98th minute when Andrada spoke to him. Pulido ran up to the goalkeeper and gave him a piece of his mind, only to be pushed over by Andrada. The Argentine keeper then saw yellow-red and freaked out. Only after a few minutes does the situation calm down again. Huesca’s goalkeeper Dani Jimenez and Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende were shown red cards following the fracas.
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“We witnessed scenes that are not worthy of this sport and that should never have happened,” Zaragoza said in a statement. The club condemns “in the strongest possible terms what happened at that moment, because it has unreasonably marred a football match that is particularly important for our region – something that is unacceptable. As far as our player Esteban Andrada is concerned, the club will investigate what happened and take appropriate disciplinary action.”
Huesca coach Jose Luis Oltra shared: “It’s difficult to explain. I’m trying to understand the situation, but I don’t want to justify what can’t be justified. That was completely unreasonable. It was ugly.”
Andrada is on loan at Zaragoza this season from Mexican club Monterrey. The 35-year-old played four international matches for Argentina’s national team in 2019.
