Barcelona will be without star striker Robert Lewandowski for their next three La Liga matches after losing an appeal submitted to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) relating to the suspension issued to the player after a red card shown to the Polish striker against Osasuna in early November.
Lewandowski received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card but received further punishment over a controversial gesture alleged to be directed at the referee.
Barcelona initially appealed to the Spanish football federation (RFEF), but that was rejected, leaving the Catalans to take things to a higher court. However, that subsequent appeal has also been rejected and the original suspension upheld.
Lewandowski, whose Poland side recently reached the World Cup knockout stages for the first time since 1986, will sit out upcoming club games against Espanyol, Atletico Madrid and Getafe as Barça finish 2022 and head into 2023.
The 34-year-old will be a major loss for Xavi’s team. He has scored 13 goals in 14 La Liga appearances since his summer switch from Bayern Munich, but it could provide an opportunity for Memphis Depay to make his mark after missing the first portion of the season through injury.
Memphis hasn’t played for Barcelona since October, scoring in a win over Elche, but recovered from a thigh problem well enough to feature in all five of Netherlands’ games at the World Cup.
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