Suarez Denied Place In Cup Final After Pivotal Role

            Suarez Denied Place In Cup Final After Pivotal Role - Luis Suarez was incredulous after being sent off in Barcelona's thrilling King's Cup semi-final second leg with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, ruling him out of the final in May after playing a pivotal role in getting his team there.

The Uruguayan scored two of Barca's three goals in the semi-final, firing them to a 2-1 win in the first leg with a tremendous solo run as well as hitting the opener in Tuesday's 1-1 draw.

Suarez was left livid when he was shown a second yellow card in the 90th minute for striking Atletico midfielder Koke in the face as he fought for an aerial ball.

"I'm laughing at that second yellow card, it's not even a foul," Suarez told Gol TV after being sent off for Barca for the first time since joining the club from Liverpool in 2014.

"I did absolutely nothing. I hope the club will appeal it. It's something which cannot be explained, and the referee couldn't give me any explanation, as always, but we're already accustomed to this."

Suarez was forced off with a hamstring injury in the second half of last year's Cup final, a 2-0 defeat of Sevilla, but will play no part at all in the May showpiece against either Celta Vigo or Alaves.

Defender Sergi Roberto, who was also sent off for a double booking, will also miss out.

"I agree we should appeal the decision but if you look at the past you will see that appeals have proved no good for us," Barca coach Luis Enrique told reporters.

"It frustrates me when players on my team miss finals, but at the end of the day it's something which happens in football. The referee felt that both Suarez and Roberto deserved two yellow cards."

The coach, who has lead Barca to the final of the King's Cup in each of his three seasons in charge, felt his side scarcely deserved to go through, with Atletico outplaying them for large parts of both games.

"It was tough and difficult, but we have to be very happy. Evidently not because of how we played, but because the team is continuing to make history," he added.

"We've made too many mistakes, we were pinned back and we didn't know how to get out. We didn't have quality when we were on the ball, but so much happened at the end that I will have to analyse the game properly. But we have to improve.

"We were suffering. I have to congratulate the fans.

"They will enjoy the final and we will try to win it."