For starters, Luís Paredes is a Colombian football player, the Argentinian we are talking about is called Leandro Paredes.
Then he was born 1994, he has been with the Argentinian squad since 2017, nine years. I don’t think he is likely to be an active international player for the World Cup 2030, aged 36. Players keep playing longer and longer, see Messi, but I don’t see it in his case.
But he is going to miss the next Copa América — oficially, Conmebol Copa América —, the only international tournament where the participating nations do not have to qualify to participate. He has won the last two editions of this tournament, 2021 (in Brazil) and 2024 (in the USA). There will likely be no more for him. His international career is over. Chau, viejo, good riddance!
So Paredes gets a 10 game suspension, Molina 7, Almada gets one, Ayala 3, and the Spanish player Gavi, the victim who was thrown to the ground, also gets one. Algo habrá hecho (@Frodo is going to Pit me some day).
The Copa is in 2028, and Argentina will easily have 10 friendlies in hand by then, just looking at the FIFA fixture calendar. That said, whether they care to have a wrecklessly violent 34-yo midfielder on the team…
…ah, who am I kidding, they’ll happily have him on the bench if he’s still fit.
Are you sure that international friendlies count as official matches?
They have in the past, so as sure as I am of anything with FIFA.
Which I guess isn’t much.
I’ll take your word for it, but it feels strange to me, as I don’t think they count at club level. You can’t get rid of a suspension in the Champions League or in La Liga after, say, receiving three or five yellow cards or a red card by having your club play a friendly match in which you don’t participate.
I understand the situation is different, as is the calendar, and FIFA is not UEFA.
Huh, well, searching the internet, it becomes less clear. And by that I mean, I can’t convince myself either way, but the word ‘official’ is making me lean more toward your interpretation. Sorry that I was so sure of myself!