CA Osasuna confirmed on Friday, April 11th, that their appeal regarding the eligibility of Barcelona defender Iñigo Martínez in their La Liga match last month has been dismissed by the Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) Competition Committee. Osasuna had challenged the 3-0 defeat, arguing Martínez should not have played.
The appeal stemmed from Martínez withdrawing from the Spain squad for recent Nations League games due to a swollen knee but subsequently playing the full 90 minutes for Barcelona against Osasuna on March 27th, just four days after Spain’s last match. Osasuna based their claim on Article 5 of Annex I of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, which restricts players withdrawn from national duty for medical reasons from playing for their club for five days afterwards, unless specifically assessed and cleared by the national team.
However, the RFEF Competition Committee rejected Osasuna’s argument. According to Osasuna, the committee’s reasoning was that “The RFEF, by allowing the players to leave the training camp without imposing any type of limitation on them, as well as subsequently issuing the certificate of dismissal, is implicitly expressing its desire not to apply said prohibitive rule.”
Osasuna stated they disagree with this interpretation, arguing no explicit waiver of the restriction was communicated, and confirmed they will file a further appeal with the RFEF’s Appeal Committee.
The 3-0 result currently stands, pending the outcome of the next stage of the appeal process. The original fixture, scheduled for March 8th, had been postponed following the death of a Barcelona club doctor.
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