Some frustrating news for the coaching staff at La Liga giants Barcelona has been confirmed on Saturday evening. This comes amid confirmation that the Brazilian Football Federation do not intend to release Raphinha from duty early.
Frontman Raphinha was for his part in from the off earlier today, as Brazil locked horns with Japan in a friendly clash.
En route to an eventual 3-2 defeat, however, the 29-year-old was shown a red card whilst on the bench, following a heated exchange with the team of officials.
Suspended for Brazil’s upcoming meeting with Singapore as a result, the expectation was therefore that Raphinha would be granted an early release from international duty.
This, however, will in fact not prove to be the case. As per a report from journalist Fernando Polo:
‘CBF national team chief executive Rodrigo Caetano says they are NOT RELEASING Raphinha to return to Barcelona despite his red card against Japan. He confirmed this after the match. So he remains in Singapore even though he cannot play in the next friendly.’
Conor Laird – GSFN
