He got a lot of stick for doing so but Leandro Paredes made the trip back to Buenos Aires to see the first ever 'SuperClasico' Copa Libertadores final first leg on Sunday.
The Zenit St Petersburg midfielder was dismissed by the referee seven minutes from time in the 1-0 win over Akhmat Grozny last weekend and that meant he was suspended for the 2-0 defeat against CSKA Moscow on Sunday.
A lot of people smelt something very fishy considering he's a former Boca player and had already planned to make the trip.
However, Paredes flew out to attend the 2-2 draw at La Bombonera and was spotted enjoying himself in with all the home fans.
The former Roma man had a Boca shirt with Lucas Viatri and the #9 on the back draped across him to show his support.
A few days back, Paredes himself said there was no truth to talk he deliberately got himself suspended.
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"I was going to arrive on Sunday in Argentina, but as we played on Thursday for the Europa League in France, they proposed that I not return to Russia and travel directly from there on Friday," he told Fox Sports Argentina.
"It's all a lie. Nothing happened here. It's something that was invented in Argentina. I didn't earn red card on purpose, I would never do something like that.
"When I heard that this was being talked about, I talked with Zenit sporting director and he told me that they trust me."
Paredes came through the ranks at Boca and went on to make 28 appearances for the club before joining Chievo in 2014.
Topics: Football News, Football, Zenit, Boca Juniors
