Barca’s hopes of beating Real Madrid in El Clasico took a serious blow, as the Blaugrana have given up on having Neymar available for the Madrid trip. The visitors were hoping to have the Brazilian back in the squad, but their last-minute attempt proved unsuccessful.
The former Santos ace was sent off in the 2-0 loss to Malaga, but received further punishment for sarcastically applauding the fourth official. Neymar was thus slapped with a three-game ban as a result which will keep him out of the Bernabeu trip.
An appeal to overturn this ban was lodged, but subsequently denied. Barca then announced they would take their fight to the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
There was talk that the Selecao ace would be included in the squad for El Clasico despite his ban. The Catalan giants believed that the appeal would be accepted by CAS, clearing Neymar’s path for a return.
However, Barca announced on the day of the match that a “lack of response from CAS” has forced them to leave out their number 11. They wrote on their official website:
“The Barça coach is unable to count on the suspended Neymar Jr, who the club have decided not to call up following the lack of a response from the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sports).”
It wasn’t all bad news for Luis Enrique’s men. Mascherano is fit for El Clasico, but the biggest boost is the return of Arda Turan.
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