BARCELONA striker Robert Lewandowski has been hit with a three-match ban after the club’s appeal against it was unsuccessful.
The Polish striker was sent off in the Catalan giants’ 2-1 win over Osasuna.
Lewandowski received his first yellow just 11 minutes into the match at the El Sadar Stadium.
Then only 20 minutes later the ex-Bayern Munich forward was booked again, resulting in him getting his marching orders for clattering into defender David Garcia.
As Lewandowski departed the pitch he touched his chin – the gesture was seen as derogatory towards referee Jesus Gil Manzano and he got an additional two-games added to the ban.
Barcelona and Lewandowski disagreed saying the signal was aimed at manager Xavi and not the official.
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Therefore they launched an appeal meaning his suspension was put on hold while it was investigated.
The No.9 was allowed to play in the draw with Espanyol in the first game back after the World Cup.
But now, Spain’s sports court in Madrid has decided to uphold the ban.
This means Lewandowski will be unavailable for Barca’s next three fixtures against Intercity in the Copa del Rey, Atletico Madrid in LaLiga and Real Betis in the Supercopa semi-final.
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Due to the suspension not being overturned, Espanyol have been left raging that he was given the green light to play against them on New Year’s Eve.
The blue and white side of the city described the matter in a statement on the club’s website as an “injustice”.
They confirmed they have submitted a formal complaint to the Spanish football federation.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
