The Argentine picked up the first red card of his club career last weekend, and he has now been made aware of his punishment.
Lionel Messi has been hit with a two-match ban after his red card in the Supercopa de Espana final on Sunday.
Messi’s participation against Athletic Bilbao was a major talking point ahead of the match but the forward was able to recover from his leg injury just in time.
However, it proved to be a night to forget for the Barcelona talisman.
Messi’s team dramatically missed out on their first trophy of the season while he also received the first red card in his 753 appearances for the Catalan giants.
The 33-year-old was given a straight red after he swung his right arm at the head of Athletic forward Asier Villalibre and forced him to the ground in an incident away from the ball.
It was feared that he could be handed a suspension of up to 12 matches due to the nature of the foul, but he has received a much lenient punishment.
The RFEF’s Competition Committee announced on Tuesday that the six-time Ballon d’Or winner will serve a two-match ban for, as per Referee Gil Manzano’s match report, “striking an opponent with his arm with excessive force while the ball was in play but not within a playable distance.”
He will now miss the Copa del Rey Round of 32 clash against Cornell on Thursday and the La Liga trip to Elche on Sunday.
Barcelona confirmed they have decided to appeal Messi’s suspension.
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