After being ruled out with Spain due to injury, Iñigo Martínez pushed the recovery deadlines due to the lack of players in the center of defense in order to play against Osasuna. A decision that, however, could cost Barcelona much more than they ever imagined, as there is a possibility that the victory could be taken away after Osasuna's complaint about improper alignment.

This is what the FIFA rule says about Barcelona's improper alignment with Iñigo Martínez

The key to all of this, which has Barcelona on edge, relates to the time passed since Spain's victory over Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the Nations League… and the match played last night between Barcelona and Osasuna. It should be noted that this was against the wishes of both clubs to play the match on this date due to the fact that they could not count on some of their international players. Or at least, not under optimal conditions.

According to Article 5 of Annex I of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players in FIFA, Iñigo Martínez would have violated this rule: "A player called up by his association for one of its representative teams does not have the right, unless the association in question agrees otherwise, to play for the club to which he belongs during the period of his release, as stated in this annex, plus an additional five days."

Osasuna complains about Barcelona's improper alignment

In this situation, Osasuna has found a legal loophole to have the match awarded as lost to Barcelona: "The Club Atlético Osasuna has filed a complaint today with the Competition Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation for improper alignment of FC Barcelona in the match played last night at the Lluís Companys Stadium. The entity believes that the participation of the player Iñigo Martínez in the match yesterday violated Article 5 of Annex I of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players of FIFA."

However, the decision is now in the hands of the RFEF, as this rule is only applicable if no agreement is reached with the club to which the player involved in this conflict belongs. However, as MARCA has revealed, the Spanish Federation sees no reason to jeopardize Barcelona's victory, considering that Iñigo Martínez was released by the coach Luis de la Fuente… even though he managed to recover in time to play against Osasuna.