UD Leganes of Spain defender, Chidozie Awaziem has been knocked out of the club’s next game in LaLiga, as accumulated cards in previous matches have earned him as suspension that bars him from action on Thursday, even as his team stage a desperate bid to avoid relegation.
Mergasportsarena.com gathered that it means the club’s coach, Javier Aguirre will not be able to count on Awaziem for his side’s must-win game against Athletic Club at San Mamés Barria on Thursday evening, because he has been sanctioned by the competition committee of Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
Awaziem was shown his tenth yellow card of the season in the closing minutes of Leganes’ 1-0 win against Valencia on July 12, triggering a one-game ban in the process, which rules him out a crucial period for Leganes, who are third from bottom in the current LaLiga standings and four points from safety.
Leganes, who also without Kenneth Omeruo due injury, will need to win their remaining two matches away to Athletic Bilbao and home for Real Madrid, while also hoping that Celta Vigo and Alaves drop points, but they will not have the presence of Awaziem, who is on loan from FC Porto of Portugal.
He has a chain of disciplinary issues this season, having sat out the trip to Levante in February as a result of several bookings, and, should Leganes fail to beat Bilbao, they will be relegated to the second-tier with one game left as they trail 17th-placed Deportivo Alaves by four points.
In the club’s immediate past match, Awaziem, who has 26 games under his boots in a compact five-man defence, was on top of his game and happy to help his side to victory, as the hosts were determined to stretch their unbeaten run to three games, and they were soon awarded a golden opportunity to take the lead from the penalty spot.
Leganes’ captain, Ruben Perez stepped up to convert the spot kick, much to the relief of Awaziem and the other players, who all held on gamely going into the break, but the game took a sour turn when VAR overturned a referee decision to award Jonathan Silva a straight red card on the 54th minute and the visitors also got a penalty four minutes later.
Fortunately, Leganes’ goalkeeper, Ivan Cuellar stopped the kick and his teammates then held on firmly to claim all three points, while Awaziem, who played the entire duration, got seven points over ten for his efforts, which included five clearances, five duels won and 70% completed passes; but he will not be in action during Thursday’s crucial game.
