CA Osasuna have lodged an official appeal with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) concerning their 3-0 La Liga defeat to Barcelona on Thursday, alleging that Barcelona fielded an ineligible player, defender Iñigo Martínez.
In a statement released on Friday, March 28th, Osasuna confirmed the appeal, citing Article 5 of Annex I of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP). The club argues that Martínez, who withdrew from the recent Spain national team squad due to medical reasons, was ineligible to participate in the match against them.
The FIFA regulation cited stipulates that a player withdrawn from national team duty for medical reasons cannot play for their club for five calendar days following the international period, unless they reported to the national team camp for medical assessment.
Osasuna point out that while other players like Marc Casadó and Osasuna’s own Bryan Zaragoza also withdrew injured, they reported to the national team camp for tests, whereas Martínez did not.
“Osasuna understands that Iñigo Martínez, whose non-appearance with the Spanish national team was limited to a medical leave, was not eligible to play yesterday’s match in accordance with FIFA regulations,” Osasuna’s statement read. “
In view of this fact, the Navarrese club has decided to lodge an appeal on the grounds of unfair alignment in defence of its rights, the fairness of the competition and the equality of all participants.”
Despite the formal complaint, reports suggest Barcelona remain confident that they acted within the rules and that Osasuna’s claim lacks merit. The RFEF’s Competition Committee will now review the appeal. The outcome could potentially impact the result of Thursday’s match, which Barcelona won comfortably.
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