'Iñigo Martínez Case': Barça defends itself against Osasuna's complaint

The FC Barcelona has gone on the offensive in the 'Iñigo Martínez case'. The blue and burgundy entity has decided to present allegations against the appeal filed by Osasuna last Friday before the Disciplinary Committee of the Spanish Federation due to the alleged improper alignment of the Basque center-back in the match that faced both teams on matchday 27 of LaLiga, which ended with a comfortable 3-0 in favor of the culés.

At Can Barça, they received the appeal on Monday and despite having three days to present their defense, they decided to act almost immediately and have already taken a step forward. Beyond this, in the Catalan capital, there is a sense of calm, as the Catalans are convinced that the claim from the Navarre team will not have much traction.

And it is that the blue and burgundy entity was aware of the risk of a possible improper alignment, which is why they acted with knowledge and advice in the decision to use the defender last Thursday. To 'shield' themselves in this situation, the culés consulted their legal services and experts before giving the 'OK' to Hansi Flick to start the '5', which is why they are calmly facing the accusation from the rojillos.

Osasuna's Arguments

Osasuna argues that Iñigo did not comply with the deadlines stipulated by FIFA regulations after being withdrawn from the Spanish national team call-up for medical reasons. According to the regulations, a player who does not join their national team or leaves the concentration for medical reasons cannot play matches with their club during the five natural days following the end of the international period.

The Spanish national team played its last match in this international window on Sunday, March 23, against the Netherlands. This implies that Martínez would not have been eligible to play until Friday, March 28, one day after the match between the Barça and Vicente Moreno's team. In their official statement, the Navarre entity emphasized that this action violates the principles of equality and fairness in competition and asserts that this case cannot be subject to any exceptions within the regulations.

FC Barcelona, Calm in the Face of Osasuna's Accusations

The Barça has responded calmly to the accusations. According to various sources, the club's medical services promptly notified the RFEF about the defender's injury, who was withdrawn due to an internal meniscus injury in his right knee. From that moment, the player was released from the national team and was replaced by Dean Huijsen.

Both the culés and the Federation are clear that, having been directly released by the national coach, Luis de la Fuente, shortly after being injured against Atlético de Madrid, the player was not considered a member of the squad that defeated the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the Nations League.

Furthermore, the Catalan team asserts that this article is only applicable if the club had refused to release the player or the player had refused to respond to the national coach's call, which is not the case here, as Iñigo was released by the national team's coach after his physical setback became known.

With this in mind, the culés believe that the allegations presented this Tuesday to the Competition Committee are sufficient to dispel any doubts about the legality of the player's alignment, and therefore they expect the appeal filed by the Navarre team to be dismissed and the three points obtained in the match of matchday 27 of LaLiga to be ratified.