Shortly after Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Osasuna, the Pamplona-based outfit decided to file a complaint against the participation of Inigo Martinez.
It relied on a FIFA regulation which states that a player who leaves the national team cannot play for his club until five days after the national team’s last match.
In this case, Inigo Martinez was called up to the national team, but he had to withdraw due to an injury. As such, he remained in Barcelona to recover.
Barcelona present their argument
Barcelona received the appeal on Monday and have three days to respond. According to SPORT, the Catalans are ready to issue a response and present their argument.
Barça argue that FIFA’s regulations cannot be applied in the case of Martinez, as the club and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) believe the player was eligible to play after being released by national team coach Luis de la Fuente.
This is because Martinez was released from the squad before Spain’s first leg Nations League encounter against the Netherlands.
Barça are clear about the fact that FIFA’s regulation only applies if the club refuse to release the player for international duty or if the player refuses to respond to the national team’s call-up.
In the case of Martinez, he was more than ready to play for La Roja while Barça themselves had no qualms about releasing the player.
But due to the veteran’s injury, he had to withdraw from the squad and was, therefore, not included in the squad against either of the matches against the Netherlands.
Some experts even believe that the RFEF cannot impose this FIFA regulation since it is not included in the nation’s own footballing regulation.
As such, Barcelona are confident that Osasuna’s appeal won’t be considered. The final decision on this Martinez’s legal saga will be made next week.
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