Brazil have decided to keep Raphinha with the squad in Singapore after he was sent off in the 3–2 defeat to Japan. The Barcelona winger will return to Spain later than he could have, despite being suspended for Tuesday’s friendly against Singapore.
According to Spanish newspaper AS, the Brazilian Football Confederation and Raphinha agreed that he would stay. The federation has usually allowed suspended players to return to their clubs in similar circumstances. “Raphinha will stay with us. There’s no point in him leaving when he’s one of the team’s leaders,” Brazil’s national teams director Rodrigo Caetano said after the match.
Raphinha captained Brazil in Marquinhos’s absence and started the match before making way for Endrick in the 71st minute. From the bench, he protested the referee’s decision to let play continue after what he felt was a foul on João Gomes in the buildup to Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s winner for Japan. Both Raphinha and head coach Carlo Ancelotti were sent off.
“I want to apologise for my behaviour and for getting sent off,” Raphinha said afterwards. “Sometimes it’s hard to keep your composure after what I felt were so many mistakes by the referee,” he added, describing the officiating as “unacceptable”.
Raphinha’s appearance against Japan followed discussions between Barcelona and the Brazilian federation over how to manage his minutes. He had returned from the September international break with a muscle injury sustained against Australia. Before the friendly, he said he and Ancelotti had discussed his fitness to play without agreeing on a specific number of minutes.
The injury against Australia was Raphinha’s third on Brazil duty in 2026. An injury against France in March ruled him out of both legs of Barcelona’s Champions League quarter-final against Atlético Madrid, and another against Haiti cut short his World Cup campaign.
Barcelona return to action against Villarreal at Camp Nou on Sunday, 22 November. By staying with Brazil through the Singapore friendly, Raphinha will have less time to prepare with Hansi Flick’s squad. The winger has scored 19 goals this season and extended his Barcelona contract this month until June 2030.
