34-year-old Barcelona player set to miss the upcoming Copa del Rey clash against Real Betis | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are currently enjoying the best start to 2025 that they could have imagined. The Catalan giants, across both the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup so far, have looked completely flawless. After defeating the likes of UD Barbastro and Athletic Club, Barcelona just recently also dismantled Real Madrid.

In the final of the Spanish Super Cup, La Blaugrana humiliated Los Blancos with a 5-2 scoreline that was still arguably kind to Carlo Ancelotti’s team. At a point in the game, it felt as if the Catalan giants would go on to score many more goals beyond just the fifth that came through Raphinha.

Unfortunately, however, any hopes of that were tarnished when Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny ended up conceding a red card near the 57th minute. It came as a result of him taking out Kylian Mbappe, who seemed to be through on goal either way so the Pole decided to get in the way himself.

As per the official match report from referee Gil Manzano, he prevented a clear goalscoring opportunity and was sent off as a result:

“At minute 57, player (25) Wojciech Szczęsny was sent off for the following reason: For fouling an opponent in the ball contest, thereby preventing a clear goal-scoring opportunity.”

Now, as per Mundo Deportivo, this red card will carry on towards his next game in the Copa del Rey as well. While some people may have thought that expulsions in the Spanish Super Cup stay within the competition, it turns out that the 34-year-old goalkeeper will also now miss the upcoming game against Real Betis.

As per Article 56 of the Disciplinary Code, Section 8, the expulsion will now also end up preventing players from featuring in the immediate games right afterwards:

“The suspension from matches resulting from the Supercup of Spain, regardless of its severity, will prohibit the player from being aligned, acting, or entering the field of play, the bench, or the locker room, in as many matches as the suspension covers, in the order they take place, even if changes in the schedule, postponements, repetitions, or other circumstances alter the originally planned competition timeline.”

However, right after the game against Betis, he will be able to return against Las Palmas in La Liga. For the upcoming game, however, Hansi Flick might be confident enough in the abilities of Inaki Pena to trust the Spaniard when it comes to keeping Betis at bay in the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.