Barça and Osasuna did not play their match due to force majeure caused by the death of Dr. Carles Miñarro shortly before the match was due to take place. Now, the date for the match is proving to be a real headache.
In principle, there were only two free dates available to reschedule the match corresponding to matchday 27 of the league: Thursday 27 March and Wednesday 21 May. The Sole Judge of Professional Competitions of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), José Alberto Peláez, decided to set the match postponed due to the sudden death of Barça’s first team doctor Carles Miñarro for March 27th.
The resolution argues that the match must be played on the 27th because it is the first possible date as required by the regulations and because “the protection of the integrity of the competition must take precedence”. “Moving this match to the penultimate matchday can undoubtedly generate competitive disadvantage and uncertainty, being detrimental to all the teams involved, and therefore to the principles and values of the competition itself,” the resolution states.
A decision that both Barça and Osasuna are going to appeal. The Barça team are clinging to a precedent already experienced by Real Madrid. In the 2016-2017 season, Real Madrid played a postponed match against Celta de Vigo between the last two dates of LaLiga, this being a crucial match for the outcome of the tournament.
After matchday 37 of that edition of the competition, Barça and Real Madrid were tied at the top with 87 points. Then, Zinedine Zidane’s side ended up winning at Balaídos by a convincing 1-4 with a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo, a goal from Kroos and another from Benzema, adding up to three points that were ultimately key to the Whites’ league title win.
The other reason that the culé team will put forward in their appeal will be that they cannot count on these footballers for the international matches that are already scheduled for these days. And the fact is that they could not count on up to five players from their first team: Raphinha, Araujo, Fermín, Pablo Torre and Gerard Martín.