It’s not too unfair to say that it took Junior Firpo a while to convince Leeds United fans, but he’s certainly managed that overall.
A regular again this season, the 28-year-old has started at left-back when he’s been available. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case against QPR this afternoon, with Leeds United announcing The FA have given Firpo a three-match ban following an incident against Millwall in the 6th November match.
That’s been deemed as violent conduct, wasn’t seen by match officials, but was caught on camera and has seen the ban applied.
Firpo’s next match will now be on the international scene.
He played for Spain at U21 level but recently changed his allegiance to Dominican Republic. They’re on the verge of qualifying for the Gold Cup. That’s seen as a huge deal as it will be the first time they’ve qualified for the competition in their history.
Securing players like Firpo has been a big part of that success.
El Caribe newspaper quote him as saying: “A FIFA date that can change the history of Dominican football, we need your help too to do it. Fill the stadium, come support us and we will do the rest.”
The history message is one being pushed by the country’s football authorities as they try to get the ground as full as possible for the upcoming matches against Dominica and Bermuda.