Barcelona, Osasuna reject new match date

Barcelona and Osasuna are set to appeal the decision by the Spanish Federation’s Competition Judge to schedule their postponed match for Thursday.

The two clubs argue that the integrity of the competition is at risk as they would be unable to field key international players.

A fresh dispute has emerged between La Liga clubs and the Spanish Federation. The match, originally postponed due to the passing of the club’s doctor Minarro, was rescheduled for March 27, but neither team is willing to accept that date. They now have 48 hours to file an appeal, citing concerns over missing players—particularly those returning late from South American international duty.

According to AS, Barcelona will submit their appeal within the next two days. The absences of Raphinha, who plays from Tuesday night into Wednesday, and Araujo, who features on Tuesday, are key reasons for their opposition to the date.

Another scheduling issue arises with Osasuna’s existing fixture list. They are set to play on Friday, March 28, meaning their game against Barcelona would need to be pushed back at least until Sunday to allow for proper rest.

As reported by COPE, Osasuna will propose three alternative dates. The first option is the day after the Copa del Rey final, but that would require Barcelona to be eliminated by Atletico Madrid. The second is between May 5 and May 11, just before El Clasico, but this would only be possible if Barcelona were knocked out in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The preferred option for both Barcelona and Osasuna is to play between the penultimate and final rounds of the season, following the precedent set by the Celta-Barcelona fixture in 2016/17. However, playing between May 18 and 25 could be seen as an unfair advantage compared to the rest of the league.