A Vissel Kobe player has been given a one-month ban from the club for an incident involving Andres Iniesta.
The World Cup winner was completely blameless in the situation, but his teammate Shunki Takahashi landed himself in hot water after revealing that the Spaniard was not in the squad for the game against Urawa Reds in September.
Catalan newspaper Sport say the 28-year old messaged a friend to inform him that Iniesta wasn't playing after he asked the question.
He then ended up posting on Twitter, word soon reached members of the media and news of Iniesta's absence became common knowledge.
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And given Takahashi essentially leaked team news information, his club acted by enforcing a one-month suspension following an investigation into the matter.
They found him guilty of breaching J-League rules and he was subsequently banned starting from September 24.
"We sincerely apologize to supporters and everyone concerned for causing inconvenience and worry," an official statement from Vissel Kobe on their website read.
Iniesta signed for Vissel back in May, ending his glittering stint with his beloved Barcelona and making his debut in new colours in July.
A few months on and the club lie in 11th place in the 18-team league, with Iniesta scoring twice in nine games.
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Both goals were utterly joyous though and that's all that counts. He scored the most magnificent goal against Jubilo Iwata, rolling back the years with a scrumptious turn that left the defender flat on his arse.
The 34-year old then followed it up by smashing in an absolute rocket against Sanfrecce in another J1 League game.
Topics: Football News, FC Barcelona, Football, Vissel Kobe, Andres Iniesta, Japan
