FIFA rejects Spain's request regarding Barcelona star
Baku, September 18, AZERTAC
FIFA's Appeal Committee has rejected the Spanish federation's request to suspend the one-match ban imposed on Barcelona star Gavi over incidents during the World Cup final.
According to Goal, Luis de la Fuente, coach of the Matadors, will name his Spain squad today, Friday, for the opening matches of the Nations League.
Even if Gavi makes the list, de la Fuente cannot count on him. FIFA have rejected the federation's request to suspend the ban for a year.
So if the player is called up within a wider-than-usual squad, with several matches crammed into just two weeks, he will not, under any circumstances, feature on 26 September in the opener against England in London. It is a hugely important fixture in the qualifying campaign.
De la Fuente will then have to wait until the second match against Croatia, scheduled for Spain on 29 September.
FIFA's Disciplinary Committee had earlier rejected the appeal submitted by the Spanish federation over the Barcelona player's incident with Argentina's Leandro Paredes, who was himself hit with a 10-match ban after his assault on Eric Garcia.
The federation then turned to the Appeal Committee. Since a one-match ban cannot be appealed, they instead asked for its execution to be suspended and placed under a one-year probationary period.
Spain cited the precedent of American player Folarin Balogun at the 2026 World Cup, sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina. His penalty was a one-match ban, but FIFA decided, strikingly, to suspend it for a year.
None of it worked. FIFA rejected the appeal and upheld the one-match ban imposed on Gavi.
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