'Iñigo Martínez Case': Barça had already ruled out risks before the complaint

Calm reigns at FC Barcelona amid the 'storm' caused by the complaint from Osasuna to the Competition Committee for the alleged improper alignment of Iñigo Martínez. The rojillos claim that the center-back did not fulfill the mandatory inactivity period after his withdrawal from the Spanish national team due to injury, which is why they challenged a match that the Catalans won convincingly and almost effortlessly.

However, 'Catalunya Ràdio' reported that the azulgrana 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'.

Although from within Can Barça and its legal services they do not believe there is a violation of the regulations, the club wanted to cover its bases and did not overlook the warnings about a possible sanction. In fact, the prior consultation reflects that the entity was clear that there was a legal debate regarding the application of Article 5 of Annex I of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, so they acted accordingly and are calmly facing the accusation from Osasuna.

The FIFA regulations and the RFEF support Barça

Iñigo returned to Catalunya directly from Madrid after the match at the Metropolitano, relying on the medical report sent by the club. The RFEF gave the 'ok' to his withdrawal, so there are no grounds to claim improper alignment. The FIFA rule does not allow counting on internationals who have been called up by their national team until five days after the last match played during the break.

Hence, Osasuna claims that Barça "did not meet the established deadlines," as the match on Thursday was played just four days after the Spain-Netherlands match in Mestalla. However, the rule clarifies that if the player is expressly released by the corresponding federation (the RFEF, in this case), the established deadlines do not apply. Therefore, Iñigo Martínez was eligible to play in the rescheduled match of matchday 27 of LaLiga.

Precedents that invite optimism for Barça

Osasuna knows firsthand what it means to be in the position that FC Barcelona finds itself in such a situation. In 2004, in the match against RCD Mallorca (1-1) corresponding to matchday 25 of LaLiga 03-04, they aligned the Australian forward John Aloisi, who did not join the 'socceroos' call-up for the match against Venezuela (1-1) on February 18 due to injury.

Despite this, Aloisi played the match with the 'rojillos' on February 22, which generated great controversy, as the five-day period from his withdrawal to his participation in the clash against the mallorquinistas had not been fulfilled. However, the Appeals Committee ruled in favor of CA Osasuna, arguing that the official withdrawal of the player nullified any effect that the initial call-up might have had. Thus, the situation was resolved in favor of the Navarre club.

Barcelona has already had a favorable decision of this kind in the past

Additionally, there is a second, more relevant precedent for FC Barcelona, which directly involves the club. In 2006, RCD Espanyol filed a formal protest for considering an improper alignment of Xavi Hernández and Carles Puyol in the Supercopa de España (0-1), held on August 17.

Both players had been ruled out due to injury from Luis Aragonés' call-up for the friendly between Spain and Iceland on August 15. Just like in the case of John Aloisi, the Competition Committee dismissed the request from RCD Espanyol based on these arguments.