Otamendi has reason to smile! Benfica captain's ban overturned | OneFootball

Nicolás Otamendi received excellent news ahead of what is expected to be the last World Cup of his career. FIFA decided to accept the request submitted by the Argentine Football Association and overturned the suspension that had prevented the Benfica defender from playing in the albiceleste’s first match of the competition.

The Benfica centre-back had been sent off in the last match of the South American qualifying phase, against Ecuador, after bringing down Enner Valencia when the forward was through on goal. At the time, Otamendi was shown a straight red card and ended up suspended for one match.

However, FIFA approved an amnesty based on a regulatory change to the World Cup, thus allowing the experienced defender to be available right from Argentina’s opening match against Algeria, scheduled for June 16.

with Lisandro Martínez and Cristian Romero also affected by suspensions and recent injuries.

Benfica, in the draw against Famalicão. The 38-year-old Argentina international will miss Monday’s clash with Braga, on May 11, at the Estádio da Luz.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.