The Spaniard received a red card in Barcelona’s crucial victory over Atletico Madrid last weekend.
La Liga has rejected Barcelona’s appeal against Ferran Torres’ red card, forcing the Spain international to serve a two-match ban.
Torres’ brawl with Atletico Madrid’s Stefan Savic saw the two players wrestle over the ball while grabbing each other’s hair and neck.
The referee sent both players off, with La Liga subsequently punishing them with a two-match ban. The Catalans appealed against the initial ruling, but La Liga swiftly denied the motion.
Torres’ absence creates more personnel problems for Barcelona in their attacking line. Ansu Fati is far from his best form, while Robert Lewandowski is spending a three-game ban that he received before the World Cup.
Speaking after the Atletico game, Xavi praised Torres for his game-deciding performance.
“It is also important to win without Lewy, because he is a key player,” he said (via Tribuna).
“We have missed him under pressure. Ferran has done that job when he came out, but Lewy is a very important player for us. With Kessie and Ferran [on], we were able to play in the opposite half again.”
Barcelona will face Real Betis in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup on Thursday before meeting AD Cueta in the Cope del Rey six days later.
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