DUE TO THE IMPROPER ALIGNMENT OF IÑIGO MARTÍNEZ
Controversy in LaLiga! Athletic could challenge Saturday's duel against Barça
Published:26/08/2024 - 23:44h
Updated:27/08/2024 - 00:28h
The registration of Iñigo Martínez in LaLiga could start a tough legal battle in the LaLiga offices. Athletic Club is considering denouncing their alignment as improper, which would challenge the result of the duel played on Saturday in Montjuïc
FC Barcelona registered Iñigo Martínez before the start of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25 to take the place of the injured Ronald Araújo. After suffering a long-term injury, the club used the 'Charrúa' quota to enable the Basque central defender, an operation that the employers approved without problems. However, Athletic Club considers that Barça failed to comply with the provisions of article 77 of the LaLiga Economic Control Regulations, regarding the registration of footballers to cover prolonged absences.
According to the latest information, the Bilbao team considers that the lineup of the '5' in the match played in Montjuïc last Saturday, August 24 (which ended in a 2-1 culé victory) was improper and could challenge the result of the match. The reason is that, according to the aforementioned article, clubs can only register players to fill the position of an injured player if they have signed him, specifically, for this reason.
Athletic's reasons for appealing Iñigo's registration
In that sense, Iñigo's registration does not fit this condition, since the man from Onarroa signed for Barça last summer and was out of the squad due to the Barça team's problems with the salary margin. Although Araújo will be out at least until January, Martínez was not hired under the terms established by the regulations, that is, to cover the loss of the 'Charrúa'.
If the match is challenged, Barça runs the risk of losing points and suffering a financial penalty. If the ruling is awarded to Athletic, the victory would be attributed to the Basques or a repetition of the clash could even be considered, as determined by the competent bodies. In any case, the controversy can open a real Pandora's box in the tournament, since the '5' also played the 90 minutes on matchday 1 against Valencia.
Dani Olmo's registration would fall within the norm
On the contrary, the registration of Dani Olmo would not run any risks, considering that it is a recent signing. What may be the subject of discussion is Andreas Christensen's time out because, in principle, it was estimated that the Dane would be out for a maximum of two months due to his injury to his left Achilles tendon, but now it has been classified as a long-term injury (he will be out for the rest of 2024) to register the one from Terrassa.
