After accusing the Catalan club of violating FIFA regulations with their team selection at Thursday’s meeting, Barcelona’s rivals Osasuna have released a statement outlining their stance.
Inigo Martinez was used by the Spanish league leaders in their victory over Pamplona, and Osasuna has now formally filed an appeal against Barcelona. Despite being sidelined by injury, center-back Martinez played the entire 90 minutes of Barcelona’s 3-0 triumph.
A player is prohibited by FIFA regulations from playing for their club team within five minutes of their national team’s most recent match. Spain defeated the Netherlands on penalties in their UEFA Nations League match on Sunday night. Four days later, on Thursday, Barca will play Osasuna.
In an official statement, Osasuna claimed that neither Martinez nor Marc Casado, a teammate from Barcelona, was deemed eligible for the match. They used the same reasoning with their own player, Bryan Zaragoza, who, like Martinez and Casado, announced his injury-related withdrawal from Spain service.
Osasuna claim Barcelona player was ineligible
Osasuna has affirmed that they have formally appealed to the Spanish Football Federation. According to a statement from Club Atletico Osasuna, the team doesn’t think Inigo Martinez was allowed to play in yesterday’s match because he was on medical leave from the Spanish national team.
In light of this, the Navarrese club has made the decision to appeal for improper fielding in order to protect his rights, the competition’s fairness, and the equality of all players.
Barcelona reportedly believes they are safe because Spain has given them permission to play Martinez against Osasuna, indicating that there has been no violation.
On the other hand, the outcome of Thursday’s game might be reversed, giving Osasuna all three points, should an investigation reveal that Martinez was in fact ineligible. A points deduction might also ensue.
Rafael Araujo was on the bench despite his delayed return from Uruguay’s international duty, but Barcelona was unable to start Raphinha on Thursday night because the forward was playing for Brazil on Tuesday.
