Robert Lewandowski has been cleared to play in Barcelona's derby clash with Espanyol this Saturday, despite his ban.
The 34-year-old striker was slapped with a three-match suspension following his red card in Barca's 2-1 win away to Osasuna on November 8. Lewandowski was sent off for just the second time in his prestigious career, having picked up two yellow cards in the first half of the hotly-contested La Liga clash - during which teammate Gerard Pique also saw red, despite not even playing.
An additional two matches were added to Lewandowski's suspension because of a gesture which he made while walking off the pitch. The Poland captain had responded to being sent off by touching his nose and pointing towards the match referee, Jesus Gil Manzano, a gesture which was deemed arrogant and disrespectful.
On Friday, however, Barcelona were surprised to learn that their No.9's ban had been temporarily lifted by a court in Madrid, pending a final decision, with the Blaugrana previously having failed with a series of appeals during the World Cup break. Espanyol, meanwhile, promptly released an official statement reacting to the shock news, as they furiously labelled the ruling an "injustice".
"RCD Espanyol find it unusual that, 24 hours before the game against Barcelona, and after seeing appeals turned down by three different bodies, Robert Lewandowski's ban has been temporarily suspended," a press release read.
"We believe the requirements to justify the temporary suspension are not met, especially as the sanction covers two different offences [the red card and the gesture]. It has also previously been upheld by three different bodies, while the referee's report strongly endorses the ban.
"The ruling talks about irreparable damage to Barcelona without going into assessing the irreparable damage to their rivals and to the competition, without giving any possibility of appeal [to other clubs]. Espanyol consider that this last-minute decision totally conditions this gameweek in La Liga, which began on Thursday, and the team's preparation for this match. Espanyol feel it is wrong and also an injustice when taking into account the precedents with other clubs."
Barcelona were themselves taken aback by the court's decision, with a statement of their own reading: "Lewandowski can play against Espanyol on Saturday after the dispute settlement court in Madrid issued a precautionary measure against the suspension imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport."
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Lewandowski insists that the gesture in question was meant for his manager, Xavi, who received the "good news" on Friday morning. "We had prepared for the game all week without him," the Barca boss admitted at his pre-match press conference.
"It's good news and we are happy, but it is not the best timing for us. Even [Lewandowski] was surprised with the timing, but all that does not take away the fact that the ban is excessive and unfair."
