Osasuna considers contesting the match against Barça due to Iñigo Martínez's lineup

The Atlético Osasuna Club is analyzing the possibility of formally contesting the match played against FC Barcelona, corresponding to matchday 27 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25 (3-0), after detecting a possible irregularity in the lineup of central defender Iñigo Martínez.

According to the 'COPE' network, the Navarrese team will request information from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to clarify whether the Barça defender could participate in the match or not. The focus of the conflict centers on the recent withdrawal of the player by the Spanish National Team due to physical problems.

Osasuna's reasons for claiming the improper lineup of Iñigo Martínez

In this regard, Osasuna argues that, according to FIFA regulations, players who are released due to injury during an international call-up cannot play official matches with their club until at least five days have passed since the end of the FIFA date.

From the 'rojillo' club's perspective, they believe that this rule may have been violated in Iñigo's case, which would open the door to a possible improper lineup by Barça. Although a definitive decision has not yet been made, the team led by Vicente Moreno has begun the procedures to evaluate whether there are legal grounds for this claim.

What does FIFA say about the reintegration of players after a national team break?

Currently, there is a specific regulation related to the lineup of players after not attending a national team call-up due to injury. According to the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, in Annex 1, article 5:

• "A player who has been called up by his association for one of its representative teams shall not be entitled, unless the association in question agrees otherwise, to play for the club to which he belongs during the period that lasts or should last his release, in accordance with the provisions of this annex, plus an additional period of five days."

This means that if a player does not attend the national team call-up, even due to injury, he cannot be lined up by his club during the period of the international call-up plus five additional days, unless the corresponding national federation expressly authorizes it. Thus, we will have to wait for the official response from the RFEF to determine whether Osasuna's claim regarding Iñigo Martínez's lineup on Thursday is valid or not.

This was the Spanish national team's statement announcing Iñigo's absence

Last Monday, March 17, one day after the Atlético-Barça match (2-4), the RFEF announced the Basque center-back's absence due to a right knee injury for the first leg of the Nations League quarterfinals against the Netherlands.

However, Osasuna remains unsure whether or not the defender was released by La Roja, as the Barça number 5 remained in Barcelona during the FIFA World Cup and only returned to training with the Barça squad this Monday. Eset released the statement shared by the Spanish national team:

• "Iñigo Martínez is out of the Spanish national team squad due to internal parameniscitis in his right knee, as reported by FC Barcelona. In his place, Luis de la Fuente has selected Dean Huijsen of AFC Bournemouth, initially called up by Santi Denia for the U-21 matches."

Dean Huijsen was tasked with replacing Iñigo for the tie against the Netherlands, where he ultimately played a key role. The 19-year-old defender replaced the injured Pau Cubarsí in the first half in Rotterdam (2-2) and played the full 120 minutes on Sunday in the return leg at Mestalla (3-3), providing an assist for Lamine Yamal in extra time.