Barcelona had the chance to go five points clear ahead of their match with Osasuna, but could not have had a worse opening half hour.
In the opening ten minutes, Osasuna took the lead through David Garcia in controversial fashion.
Then after 28 minutes, their star striker was sent off. Robert Lewandowski had already been booked when he went in for a challenge with Garcia. Leaping into the defender without looking at the ball, Lewandowski was swiftly shown a second booking.
Robert Lewandowski is SENT OFF! 🟥
A second yellow card just 30 minutes in and Barcelona are even more up against it now 😬 pic.twitter.com/9Lun8QZMwi
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) November 8, 2022
The interesting part was what happened after the incident. As Lewandowski left the pitch, he appears to make a sniffing motion with his hand before signalling behind him. Many are interpreting the gesture to mean that referee Jesus Gil Manzano was on drugs. He later sent of Gerard Pique for his complaints in the tunnel at half-time.
Lewandowski insinuando que el árbitro está drogado es lo mejor de hoy jajajaja pic.twitter.com/jlcNI5XGsx
— Andrés Quintero (@eandresquintero) November 8, 2022
Whether that would be enough to get Lewandowski banned or not is unclear. Unless he has been heard saying something, the gesture could be considered ambiguous. He will at least be suspended for the Barcelona derby when they return to action after the World Cup.
