One day after the 3-0 loss in the postponed game, CA Osasuna announced that it had appealed the result. According to the club, Inigo Martinez was not eligible to play in this game.
The postponed game between FC Barcelona and CA Osasuna has been played, but the discussions continue. The game, originally scheduled for March 8, was canceled due to the sudden death of Barca team doctor Carles Minarro Garcia (53). Barcelona originally objected to the new date of March 27 because the players would not have had “enough time to rest” after the international break – but the objection was rejected.
So the game went ahead on Thursday evening, with the Catalans running out comfortable 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski. However, the following day, Osasuna announced that they had lodged an appeal.
Inigo Martinez called off the national team
The La Liga side, who are currently 14th in the table, believe the issue lies specifically with the fact that Inigo Martinez was fielded by the Catalans. The center back played the full 90 minutes after pulling out of the Spanish national team’s international trip despite being named in the squad due to knee problems.
The club refers to article 5 of appendix 1 of the FIFA regulations on the subject of “Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players”, according to which Inigo Martinez should not have been allowed to play from Osasuna’s point of view. “The regulations state that players who do not travel to the national team or leave it for medical reasons cannot play for their club within five days of the end of the international match period,” the club said in a statement explaining its own view of the matter.
Zaragoza and Casado sat out
Barcelona adhered to this rule in the case of Marc Casado. Osasuna also did not call up Bryan Zaragoza, who was unable to play for the Spanish team due to injury. The appeal also explicitly does not refer to the appearances of Gerard Martin, Pablo Torre and Fermin Lopez, who did not call up the U21 team for non-medical reasons.
“Since the Spanish Football Federation itself confirmed that Inigo Martinez’s absence was due to medical reasons,” Osasuna concludes, “there are no exceptional circumstances that would override the FIFA regulations.” Accordingly, the defender’s use was not allowed. “Consequently, the club has lodged an appeal, citing the obligation to defend its rights, maintain fair competition and ensure a level playing field for all participants.”
Two precedents
The Spanish association will now have to make a new decision about this game. If Inigo Martinez is indeed declared ineligible to play, the Catalans face a 3-0 defeat under the association’s statutes – and thus a significant setback in the title race. However, the Spanish newspaper Marca points to two precedents in Spain, both of which were unsuccessful. Both in the 2003/04 season, when Mallorca challenged the result of the game against Osasuna, and in the 2006 Supercopa, when Espanyol tried the same against FC Barcelona.
