Official: Barcelona will play Osasuna on March 27 as appeal rejected | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have had their appeal to move the rescheduled La Liga match against CA Osasuna from March 27 to a different date get rejected.

The fixture was initially scheduled to be played on March 8 but had to be suspended due to the unfortunate passing of Barcelona’s first-team doctor, Carles Minarro, hours before kickoff at Montjuic.

Earlier this week, the RFEF and La Liga confirmed that the match would now be played on March 27 – a date that was not agreeable to either club, as a result of which both launched an appeal seeking a different date.

Appeal knocked back

However, despite efforts from both Barcelona and Osasuna to find an alternative date, the disciplinary judge of the RFEF has upheld the decision to play the match on Thursday, March 27.

Barcelona and Osasuna had suggested rescheduling the match for May 21, between the penultimate and final rounds of La Liga. These last two matchdays are played simultaneously to ensure fair competition in the title race.

The clubs cited a precedent from the 2016/17 season when a postponed Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid fixture was played between the final two rounds.

However, the RFEF ruled against the request, pointing to its regulations, which state that international call-ups are not grounds for postponing a match.

The Federation referenced a similar case from 21 November, when Real Sociedad had to play a rescheduled Copa del Rey match against Jove Español despite missing several key players due to the international break.

Concerns for Barcelona

Barcelona had argued that key players would be unavailable due to international duty. Ronald Araujo and Raphinha will only just be returning from their respective matches with Uruguay (vs Bolivia on Tuesday at 21:00 (CET)) and Brazil (vs Argentina on Wednesday at 01:00 (CET)).

Although they will be in Barcelona by matchday, they will not have had sufficient recovery time.

Additionally, Fermin Lopez, Pablo Torre, and Gerard Martin will be with Spain’s U21 side, who play Germany on Tuesday at 20:30 (CET), while Hector Fort plays for Spain’s U19 team in Italy on the same day at 15:00 (CET).

With only two days between their international matches and the Osasuna fixture, travel and fatigue increase the risk of injuries at a crucial stage of the season.

Barça are already dealing with several absences, including Inigo Martinez, Marc Casado, Marc Bernal, Ter Stegen, and Andreas Christensen.