Pep Guardiola will be banned for one match after being sent off by Carlos Clos Gomez in Barcelona’s 2-2 draw against Almeria.

Guardiola is furious with the decision and insists that the match officials told lies about him.

"The referee knows that he lied in the report. He knows it - the linesman as well," Guardiola fumed in his pre-match press conference.

"It's not that I'm proud of what I did. I can understand the sending off, but we decided to contest it because Mr Clos and Mr Gallego [the assistant referee] lied.

"I was wrong and I went to the stands, but they lied... and they know it. There will be more sendings off, because I'm like that - I use common sense from time to time, but I have character."

The La Blaugrana coach then took time to speak about Barca's clash against Valencia on Sunday, and stressed that his side must win the match against a formidable team to keep within striking distance of Real Madrid.

"The league will be very difficult, regardless of what Real Madrid did in Europe, and it will take a hell of a lot of points to win it. [Valencia] are one of the league's big teams and they could have fought for the league."

Quizzed about Real Madrid's exit from the Champions League, Guardiola decided to launch a warning to his team, placing heavy emphasis that they must seal the deal against VfB Stuttgart and not be complacent.

"We can't let the same thing happen to us - Europe is very demanding," he mused.