Barcelona fail in appeal against Suarez ban

Barcelona FC will be without their Uruguayan striker Luiz Suarez in the Copa del Rey after his two-game ban in the competition was upheld by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), after an appeal from Barcelona failed.

Suarez was sanctioned for his part in a post-match altercation following Barca's 4-1 Copa win over Espanyol last week.

The Catalans overturned an early strike from Felipe Caicedo in the first leg of the last-16 tie at Camp Nou thanks to a Lionel Messi brace and goals from Gerard Pique and Neymar.

But derby-day tensions threatened to boil over during the second half as Espanyol duo Hernan Perez and Pape Diop were sent off.

In referee Juan Martinez Munuera's report, Suarez was accused of provoking a confrontation between players from both clubs in the tunnel.

Suarez will miss Wednesday's second leg, along with an anticipated quarter-final first leg tie.