Unlucky Abidal to miss two finals

Unlucky Barcelona defender Eric Abidal will miss both the UEFA Champions League and the King's Cup finals after picking up two red cards in five days.

The French full back was sent off in the second half of Barca's Champions League semi-final second leg against Chelsea last Wednesday, after the referee harshly ruled that he had tripped Nicolas Anelka.

His team mates were able to make do without him at Stamford Bridge with Andres Iniesta striking a stoppage-time equaliser to put Barca into the May 27 final against Manchester United on the away-goals rule.

Abidal's sending off against Villarreal on Sunday at the Nou Camp proved more costly.

Barca were on course to secure the Primera Liga title leading 3-1 with 12 minutes to go, before Abidal barged over visiting striker Nihat Kahveci in the area for a penalty.

This time his dismissal sparked a fightback from their opponents and Villarreal scored twice in the remaining minutes to level at 3-3. Barca need one more point for the title from their three remaining games. Sunday's red card rules him out of the King's Cup final against Athletic Bilbao in Valencia on Wednesday.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola was asked if he was annoyed with Abidal's second successive red card.

"I never get angry with the players, at least not very often," he said. "It's all about interpretations of actions in particular moments, nothing more."