Vissel Kobe suspend player for leaking Iniesta's absence
The Japanese side have banned Takahashi from playing for one month
Vissel Kobe, the Japanese team where Andres Iniesta plays his football, announced on Friday the decision to suspend a player for one month for leaking team news.
The banned player, Shunki Takahashi, sent a text message to a friend revealing that Iniesta would not be in the squad for September's game in Saitama between Urawa Reds and Vissel Kobe.
Takahashi's friend revealed the news on Twitter and it was picked up by various local media before he later decided to delete it.
"We sincerely apologise to supporters and everyone concerned for causing inconvenience and worry," the Japanese club said in a statement on its website on Friday.
Iniesta's not been able to help Vissel Kobe much since joining, with the club even changing manager. The former Barça man has played well across his nine games, scoring twice, but the team remains in the lower reaches of the table.
