BarcelonaWith just a few weeks to go until the start of the competitions, there are still three Catalan teams who do not know in which category they will play next season: Unió Esportiva Sants, Cerdanyola Futbol Club and Futbol Club Martinenc. All three are facing a situation of sporting uncertainty, as they still do not know where they will be registered.
The situation goes back to the middle of last season, when Extremadura UD had to disappear due to non-payments to the players and workers of the club and left a vacant place in group five of the Second RFEF. The team from Extremadura was withdrawn from the competition and the season ended with one less team in the group. If the place were to be awarded on sporting merits, it would have to go to Cerdanyola, who lost the category after falling to Gimnàstica Segoviana in the relegation play-off match and were relegated to the Tercera RFEF.
The ARA has been able to confirm that the Catalan Football Federation announced to Cerdanyola a few days ago that the place was theirs due to sporting merits. But in a twist of script, the Spanish Federation has changed the rules and has decided to put it up for auction instead of awarding it following the logic of the classifications. The fight must begin with the more than two million euros of debt that led to the disappearance of Extremadura, but it is unlikely that this amount will be paid. Then it would continue to be auctioned for half, at just over a million euros, and the price would be lowered until the square ended up in the hands of some club.
In the event that there was more than one club interested in paying the stipulated price, then the sporting merits would come into play. However, from the Cerdanyol club they rule out any possibility of joining an auction, not even for the more than 500,000 euros with which they believe this position will be awarded. Therefore, if nothing changes, Cerdanyola will play in the Tercera RFEF this season and another team will take its place due to the work done in the offices and not on the playing fields.
From Cerdanyola they have already announced that they will challenge the allocation of the place for whatever price, but they know that it is a matter that will go on for a long time and, in all probability, they will have to start the season in the category to which they were relegated. The draw for the season’s schedule was made this Friday, but the teams involved still don’t know where they will play this year.
In addition to Cerdanyola, UE Sants and Martinenc are collateral actors in the situation. Because if the Valaisans managed to finally stay in the Second RFEF thanks to their sporting merits, the two Barcelona clubs would remain in the Tercera RFEF and Primera Catalana, respectively, after being relegated last season. Thus, the three clubs issued a statement defending their rights and interests and asking other clubs who want to eradicate these situations in football to adhere to it, apart from asking for the support of the Catalan Football Federation.
Taking note of Andorra
This situation was already experienced a few years ago, when a place in the First RFEF (formerly Segona B) was awarded to Gerard Piqué’s Andorra after the disappearance of Reus. The Andorran team moved up two categories in just a few months, which raised some criticism, but from the Federation they assured that the club met all the requirements established by the allocation of the place. This last season, and in this case thanks to the merits on the field of play, Andorra has managed to ascend to the Second Division under the guidance of Eder Sarabia, former second coach of Barça on the bench.