Espanyol are considering withdrawing from the upcoming confrontation with Barcelona, according to reports in the Spanish press.
Barcelona will face Espanyol tonight, Saturday, in the 15th round of the Spanish league.
According to the Spanish radio “Cadena Kobe”, Espanyol is considering withdrawing from the confrontation with Barcelona, after the court’s decision to suspend the handicap of Polish striker Robert Lewandowski.
Barcelona had announced Lewandowski’s participation in the Espanyol match after a precautionary injunction was issued by the Dispute Resolution Tribunal against the suspension imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on the player for a period of 3 matches. (View details)
Espanyol statement
And Espanyol released an angry statement following the court’s decision that Robert Lewandowski was fit to participate in the Catalan derby, which came as follows:
“Espanyol find it unusual to suspend Lewandowski’s penalty temporarily, 24 hours before the match against Barcelona, and after the appeals were rejected by 3 different bodies.”
“Although we were a directly involved party, we were only able to reach the decision after it was requested. We were not informed how it should have been done under the rules of procedure.”
“We believe that the conditions to justify the temporary suspension do not exist, especially since the sanction covers two different offenses (red card and warning). Also previously it had been confirmed by three different bodies, while the referee’s report confirmed the suspension “.
Espanyol believes it was unfair to look at the past with other clubs. During this season, Espanyol has faced similar situations where appeals have been made to suspend the punishment of our players and have in no way resulted in a committee meeting as it has happened.
Barcelona lead the league standings with 37 points, two points behind Real Madrid.
While Espanyol is in 16th place with 12 points.
