Hansi Flick punishes Barcelona player and excludes him from the squad to face Athletic Bilbao
German coach Hansi Flick has decided to exclude the Barcelona player from the starting lineup to face Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup.
Barcelona will face Athletic Bilbao at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, at 9:00 pm Cairo time.
Hansi Flick announced the team lineup as follows: Szczesny, Coparsi, Martinez, Kounde, Balde, Casado, Gavi, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Lewandowski.
The surprise in the lineup was Szczesny entering the goalkeeping role instead of Inaki Pena, and according to Catalunya Radio, this decision came as a disciplinary measure by the German coach towards Inaki Pena.
According to the information coming from the aforementioned source, Iñaki Peña arrived a few minutes late for the activation session at the hotel, and although he was supposed to be the starting goalkeeper today, Hansi Flick decided to punish him by excluding him.
The Spanish goalkeeper defended himself, pointing out that he made a mistake in the schedule he set, and slept until late, which Flick accepted, but he was not flexible with the player, and decided to punish him.
