Neymar's Clasico appeal rejected
Neymar remains banned for El Clasico after Barcelona's appeal against his three-match suspension was rejected.
Barcelona has failed in its appeal against Neymar's three-match suspension which rules him out of Monday's El Clasico against Real Madrid.
The Brazil star will miss the match unless Barca elects to take its only remaining option to have the ban lifted, which would involve taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but as far as the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) is concerned, Neymar is not eligible to play.
The ban was imposed after Neymar received two yellow cards in the LaLiga clash against Malaga earlier this month, which saw him sent off. But it was the referee's post match report that led to the extended ban, Jesus Gil Manzano claiming Neymar had "sarcastically applauded" the fourth official when he left the pitch after being given his marching orders.
Neymar has already missed the match against Real Sociedad, which under normal circumstances would have been the end of the ban. But LaLiga leader Real Madrid comes next, and while Osasuna follows, the Clasico game is key to Barcelona's title ambitions, something it wants even more so after crashing out of the UEFA Champions League against Juventus on Thursday (AEST).