La Liga Announces Duration of Lewandowski and Cancelo Suspensions Ahead of El Clasico

La Liga has officially confirmed that Robert Lewandowski and Joao Cancelo will only serve one-match suspensions for accumulating yellow cards, allowing them to participate in the upcoming clash against Real Madrid later this month.

Both players received contentious yellow cards in their recent fixture against Las Palmas, pushing their respective yellow card tallies to five for the season, resulting in automatic one-game bans.

There were allegations that Lewandowski and Cancelo intentionally received these bookings to clear their suspensions for the subsequent game against Real Madrid, which follows their upcoming match against Cadiz. La Liga’s disciplinary regulations stipulate that any player found guilty of such conduct will face a doubled suspension.

However, league authorities have concluded that there was insufficient evidence to penalize either Lewandowski or Cancelo for such actions, opting to impose single-match bans instead.

As a result, both players will miss the match against Cadiz but will be available for selection against Real Madrid on April 21st.

Lewandowski’s yellow card was issued for delaying his exit from the pitch during a late substitution, while Cancelo received his for a cynical foul in the closing moments of the game.

These incidents were deemed less deliberate compared to a previous case involving Valencia midfielder Hugo Guillamon, who was instructed by his manager to intentionally receive a booking to trigger a suspension in January 2021.

Meanwhile, Barcelona will be without center-back Inigo Martinez for their match against Cadiz, as he received a yellow card against Las Palmas, with no doubts about the intentions behind it.

With one more round of fixtures remaining before the encounter, Real Madrid currently leads La Liga, holding an eight-point advantage over second-placed Barcelona.