World footballer Robert Lewandowski from FC Barcelona must finally watch the next three games in the Spanish league. The sports arbitration court TAD in Madrid rejected the appeal of the Catalan club against the suspension of the 34-year-old striker and thus confirmed the penalty imposed before the World Cup, as the newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” and other media reported on Saturday. The Pole was eliminated by his country’s selection in Qatar in the round of 16 against France.
Lewandowski had previously seen the yellow-red card after half an hour in FC Barcelona’s league game at CA Osasuna in Pamplona on November 8 and was then suspended for three Primera División games. For him it was the first dismissal after more than nine and a half years. Before that, he had last seen the red card in a Borussia Dortmund jersey on February 9, 2013.
The relatively severe punishment for the ex-Bayern professional is due to the fact that the exceptional striker put his index finger on his nose when leaving the field and then pointed at referee Gil Manzano, expressing a “disapproval of the referee’s decision”. recorded in the game log. Barça denied this interpretation, but failed with his protest.
Despite being outnumbered, Barça won their last game before the World Cup break 2-1. After 14 rounds, the Catalans lead the table by two points over defending champions Real Madrid. Coach Xavi Hernández will now have to do without Lewandowski in the derby against RCD Espanyol (December 31), in the top duel at Atlético Madrid (January 8) and at Betis Sevilla (January 14), who leads the scorer list with 13 goals.