Football
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Barcelona lose appeal of Luis Suarez Copa del Rey 2-match ban

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez will serve out his two-match ban for his role in a Copa del Rey tunnel dustup after the Spanish federation appeals committee overruled the Catalan club's bid on Tuesday.

Barcelona had appealed the ban after the club, who won an ill-tempered match 4-1 with eight Espanyol players booked and two sent off, said Suarez had not used the words the referee wrote in his report.

The appeals committee, however, ruled that Barcelona did not have any "proof to the contrary" of the referee report. They also said that the fact that Suarez was waiting for his rivals in the dressing room tunnel showed "a certain level of premeditated planning."

As a result, Suarez is banned from playing in the return leg at Espanyol's Cornella-El Prat stadium on Wednesday and a likely quarterfinal first leg.

At Tuesday's Copa del Rey news conference, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique said he did not anticipate any further incidents.

"In the first leg of the derby nothing happened that hasn't happened a million times," Luis Enrique said. "It was an exchange of opinions. It was nothing that should alter the behaviour of professionals on the field. We have all played this type of match, what is important is what happens on the pitch."

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