Rico Lewis Receives Additional Ban in Club World Cup

According to ESPN, Manchester City young defender Rico Lewis has received additional punishment from FIFA following his red card in the Club World Cup match against Wydad AC.

The initial one-match suspension has now been extended to three games — forcing the 20-year-old to miss the final group match against Juventus and the round of 16 tie. Lewis had already sat out City’s emphatic 6-0 victory over Al Ain.

“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has imposed sanctions on Manchester City’s Rico Lewis who was sent off for a straight red card. A three-match suspension has been imposed for violation of article 14 paragraph 1 e of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” read FIFA’s official statement.

This situation presents manager Pep Guardiola with a selection dilemma — Lewis is the only natural right-back currently in the squad. Several replacement options include:

• Abdukodir Khusanov who played as right-back against Al Ain
• Manuel Akanji who can fill in at right-back
• Matheus Nunes who has experience in that position from last season

Sources indicate City is considering bringing in a new right-back, with Juventus defender Andrea Cambiaso emerging as one potential target.