For the next three games in the national championship, Barcelona had to play without Robert Lewandowski who would miss Espanyol (31 December 2022), Atletico Madrid (08 January 2023) and Getafe (22 January 2023). Because he received two yellow cards against Osasuna on 08 November, the club appealed the sending off to the Court of arbitration for sport, where they got rejected. This meant that the ban of the striker has remained, but another judiciary changed everything just 24 hours before the Catalan derby.
At the new request for this case, today the Madrid court has overturned this decision and thus he can play after all in the first duel that the 34-year-old had to be omitted. Of course that Espanyol is very angry about this (sudden) green light to be allowed in the team calling it injustice. However, it is far from over for celebration, as the latest verdict is only temporarily, so for the other two games its a mystery whether he would have a permission to play.