Osasuna complaint against Barcelona alleging ‘improper lineup’ dismissed by Appeals Committee | OneFootball

The Appeals Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has dismissed Osasuna’s appeal concerning the alleged ‘improper lineup’ of Barcelona over the usage of defender Inigo Martinez during their La Liga match played in March.

The game in question was played on 27 March at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, which ended in a 3-0 victory for the Catalan side.

Osasuna initially filed a complaint with the Disciplinary Committee, arguing that Barcelona had fielded Martinez improperly.

What was Osasuna’s claim?

The claim was based on the fact that the defender had been medically withdrawn from the Spanish national team squad for their UEFA Nations League match against the Netherlands on 17 March, yet was named in the starting eleven against Osasuna just ten days later.

The Navarrese club maintained that the mandatory rest period following a medical withdrawal, as set out by FIFA regulations, had not been observed.

Osasuna alleged Martinez was ineligible to play against them. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

However, their initial appeal was knocked back by the RFEF Disciplinary Committee, which found no wrongdoings with regard to Barcelona’s fielding of Inigo in the game.

Osasuna, though, considered the explanations provided by the Disciplinary Committee insufficient and decided to escalate the matter to the Appeals Committee, which has now also rejected their appeal.

Appeals Committee verdict in favour of Barcelona

Indeed, the RFEF Appeals Committee has ruled in favour of Barcelona, dismissing Osasuna’s complaint once and for all. The ruling read:

“It cannot be validly maintained that the player’s participation in the match of 27 March constitutes an improper line-up, given that, legally speaking, the player was not subject to the time restriction established by the rule, as the effects of his call-up had ceased by means of an explicit federative act.”

Barcelona, for their part, were always confident that there was no breach of any regulations. The Catalans had consulted with legal experts in sports regulations to ensure there was no risk of sanctions before going ahead with Martinez’s inclusion in the team.

Source: SPORT