Espanyol is considering withdrawing from the upcoming confrontation against Barcelona, according to Spanish press reports.
Barcelona will play Espanyol this evening, Saturday, in the 15th round of the Spanish League.
According to the Spanish “Cadena Kobe” radio, Espanyol is considering withdrawing from the Barcelona match, 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 measure was issued by the Dispute Settlement Court against the suspension imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on the player for a period of 3 matches. (See details)
Espanyol statement
Espanyol issued an angry statement after the court’s decision eligating Robert Lewandowski to participate in the Catalan derby, which came as follows:
“Espanyol finds it unusual to suspend Lewandowski’s penalty temporarily, 24 hours before the match against Barcelona, and after appeals have been rejected by 3 different bodies.”
“Although we were a directly involved party, we could only reach the decision after it was requested. We were not informed as it should have been done according to the procedural regulations.”
“We believe that the requirements to justify the temporary suspension are not met, especially since the penalty covers two different offenses (red card and signal). It was also previously upheld by three different bodies, while the referee’s report endorsed the suspension.”
Espanyol feels it has been unfair when considering the precedents with other clubs. Throughout this season, Espanyol faced similar situations in which appeals were made to suspend the punishment of our players and in no way led to a meeting of the committee as it happened.
Barcelona leads the league standings with 37 points, two points behind with Real Madrid.
While Espanyol ranks 16th with 12 points.