Barca to appeal against Messi’s two-game ban after Super Cup red card

Spanish giants, Barcelona have expressed their intention to appeal against the two-game ban handed to star forward, Lionel Messi.

Messi was shown a red card in the 120th minute of their Super Cup final against eventual winners Athletic Bilbao, and has been punished for it.

The Argentine was sent off after he appeared to swing at Bilbao’s Asier Villalibre. It was his first-ever red card in his Barcelona career.

Barcelona say they will appeal against the suspension, which was handed out by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

Barcelona made thier intention to appeal the ban known on their official website on Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, Messi could have gotten up to 12 weeks suspension had the Committee described the incident as ‘aggression’, instead it was reported as ‘violence during play’.

The referee’s report described Messi’s actions as “striking an opponent with his arm with excessive force while the ball was in play but not within a playable distance”.

The two-game suspension means Messi is set to miss Thursday’s Copa del Rey last-32 tie at Cornella and Sunday’s La Liga match away to Elche.

‘We’re glad you got to see the GOAT!’ – Barca troll Ronaldo and Juventus after Champions League win

Lionel Messi added a late goal in the Spanish side’s win before becoming the subject of a bit of banter on social media

Barcelona trolled Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus on Twitter following the Spanish side’s 2-0 win over the Italian champions on Wednesday.

The Catalans took down Juve at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, moving atop their Champions League group with two wins from as many games.

Barca benefitted from a first-half goal from Ousmane Dembele, whose shot deflected up and over Wojciech Szczesny for the game’s opener.

They added a second in the 91st minute with a Lionel Messi spot-kick, with Juventus having seen Merih Demiral sent off moments earlier for a second yellow.

Originally billed as a clash of two of the greatest of all time in Messi and Ronaldo, Juventus were without their talismanic striker once again on Wednesday.

The Portuguese star has been absent after testing positive for the coronavirus during the international break, and he did not produce a negative test in time to take part in Wednesday’s Champions League clash. 

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Ronaldo said he was “feeling good and healthy”, but the Juventus star then commented questioning the accuracy of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests that ruled him out for the Barca match.

Without Ronaldo, Juventus were unable to produce a goal, although Alvaro Morata did see a trio of finishes ruled out due to offside calls.

And Barcelona took to social media to troll their opponents after the match, saying: We are glad you were able to see the GOAT on your pitch, @juventusfcen!”

Having defeated both Juventus and Ferencvaros, Barca currently sit atop the group, with Juventus just behind on three points.

Ferencvaros and Dynamo Kiev, meanwhile, have collected one point apiece, having played to a 2-2 draw on Wednesday in Hungary.

Having defeated both Juventus and Ferencvaros, Barca currently sit atop the group, with Juventus just behind on three points.

Ferencvaros and Dynamo Kiev, meanwhile, have collected one point apiece, having played to a 2-2 draw on Wednesday in Hungary.