Why Marcus Rashford was punished and benched by Barcelona against Getafe

Marcus Rashford was forced to miss out on Barcelona’s starting XI against Getafe in La Liga after coach Hansi Flick decided to take disciplinary action against the England forward, it has been reported. Rashford was relegated to the bench by the German coach despite scoring twice in Thursday’s Champions League victory over Newcastle.

Rashford only came on as a substitute in the 46th minute for Raphinha, by which time Barcelona were already 2-0 up thanks to a brace from Ferran Torres. The 27-year-old Rashford took 16 minutes to make an impact as his cutback provided the assist for a Dani Olmo goal as Barcelona won 3-0.

Why Marcus Rashford was punished by Barcelona

It only highlighted the top form of Rashford, but he was still made to start from the bench as a punishment for turning up late to the training on the morning of the match, a report in The Athletic said. Barcelona coach Flick is a strict disciplinarian and doesn’t like players coming late for training or meetings. Reportedly, Raphinha was handed the same punishment last week against Valencia, while Jules Kounde and Inaki Pena have also suffered a similar fate in the past.

Rashford’s punishment, however, is not the first time the England footballer has been at the receiving end of a disciplinary issue. He was also dropped by Erik ten Hag at Manchester United in January 2024 after missing training as he went out in Belfast. He was also reportedly late for a training session before a Wolves match in the 2022-23 season.

Barcelona would hope Rashford doesn’t make it a habit to do so once again, as he is looking to resurrect his career in Spain after falling out with Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim, forcing him to join the La Liga club on a loan deal.

He would now hope to return to the starting XI when Barcelona travel to Real Oviedo on Thursday night before facing Real Sociedad on Sunday.