A report on the part of Spanish outlet Marca has piqued widespread attentions across Spain in the early hours of Monday.
As much comes amid calls for Barcelona pair Robert Lewandowski and João Cancelo to be hit with respective two-game suspensions.
Both frontman Lewandowski and defender Cancelo picked up their fifth yellow cards of the season on Saturday night.
This means that neither will be available for Barca’s next outing, when Xavi’s troops face off with relegation-battling Cádiz.
More significantly, though, it is also means that, as things stand, the pair will have a clean disciplinary slate for the ensuing round of La Liga fixtures, which just so happens to feature a showdown with arch rivals Real Madrid.
With Lewandowski’s booking having come owing to ‘time wasting’ whilst making his way off the pitch after being substituted, and Cancelo’s for his actions with just minutes remaining against Las Palmas, it has since been widely suggested that both were purposely cautioned, to ensure that their suspensions arrive at the ideal moment.
And it is precisely this matter which has been focused in on by the aforementioned Marca today.
Adamant that the actions of Lewandowski and Cancelo alike left little room for interpretation, the Madrid-based outlet have pointed towards the RFEF rulebook, to call for both to be hit with two-game bans.
Such a sanction, of course, would see both Blaugrana stars forced to sit out El Clásico on April 21st.
“The RFEF Disciplinary Code is categorical on this matter and says that if a footballer forces a yellow to serve a sanction, he must serve the punishment and an additional match, that is, two. And that was the case of Lewandowski and Cancelo.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
