On Friday Osasuna declared that they would be appealing their 3-0 defeat to Barcelona, due to their fielding of an ineligible player, in this case Inigo Martinez. Los Rojillo believe that the Blaugrana are in breach of FIFA regulations.
Martinez missed Spain duty due to a knee injury, and instead recovered in Barcelona after their win over Atletico Madrid. The veteran Basque defender was injured, as per an announcement by both Barcelona and Spain manager Luis de la Fuente. Yet FIFA regulations state that players cannot play for their club within five days of the last game for their national side, if they missed the latter due to injury. In this case Barcelona played Osasuna just four days after Spain beat the Netherlands on penalties in Valencia.
However Barcelona have maintained confidence that the appeal will not come to anything, having reportedly checked that they were able to play Martinez with their legal services, and been given the green light. Beyond that, the lack of concern from the Blaugrana is based on a piece of information in the possession of President Joan Laporta. Relevo explain that Laporta is aware of a conversation that took place between Spain manager Luis de la Fuente and Inigo Martinez after Barcelona released a statement on Martinez.
Flick: “Lewandowski puts the team at the center, not just his role, not just thinking about being the top scorer… He thinks about the team, the group, and I value that very highly.”
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 29, 2025
During that conversation, de la Fuente understood Martinez’s ‘circumstances’, and released the Basque defender from Spain duty. Hence, Barcelona feel that they are in the clear of any potential sanctions, having operated in tandem with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) at all times.
The decision will be made by a Federation tribunal, who will assess Osasuna’s appeal. Previous precedents would indicate that Barcelona will end up in the clear, but there is certainly scope for their appeal. If Barcelona are found to have field Martinez illegally, they could face a points deduction.
