MADRID, 15 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Appeal Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) dismissed this Wednesday the appeal presented by Granada CF against its elimination from the 2023-2024 Copa del Rey due to improper alignment of goalkeeper Adri López in its First Qualifier two weeks ago against Arosa SC.
The Single Disciplinary Judge of the RFEF sanctioned the Nasrid team with the loss of the match and the subsequent elimination of the ko tournament after accepting the claim of the Galician team of the Third Division RFEF considering that there was improper alignment of the goalkeeper because it was not “valid” that this, 24-year-old with a record from the subsidiary – the Club Recreativo Granada B -, aligned himself with the first team, which is only allowed “only in professional competitions” as the Cup is “without any doubt, an official competition.” of a state level and non-professional nature”.
Granada decided to appeal, insisting that it had not incurred any alleged illegality “in accordance with the provisions of the Sports Law” and indicating that it was “impossible” for the tournament to be of a non-professional nature “by specifying the punctual or exceptional nature of the participation of professional players” and that the new legislation emphasizes that “it cannot be classified as a competition
amateur” by virtue of its article 84 d.
The Granada club also appealed to the 2019 Coordination Agreement between LaLiga and the RFEF, which is “in force” and which implies that the Copa del Rey “meets all the requirements to be recognized as professional.”
However, Appeal detailed that Adri López “did not meet the requirements demanded by the General Regulations and the Regulatory Rules and Competition Bases to be able to be lined up” in this match, and that only the CSD and the RFEF “are competent to determine” whether a competition is professional or not.
“And as regards the participation of professional players in this championship, which, according to Granada CF, would lead us to attribute them professional status, this argument is also not valid for very different reasons, because the Sports Law itself, In its article 84 it states that ‘However, the eventual participation of professional athletes will not alter their legal nature,'” added the organization’s resolution.