'Ter Stegen Case': The AFE Agrees with the Goalkeeper, Barça Will Exhaust the Legal Route

The dispute between FC Barcelona and Marc-André ter Stegen still seems far from being resolved. Both parties, clearly, have handled the situation very badly, with the image of the club, again, being the most affected by a controversy that has nothing to do with the great moment of the team led by Hansi Flick.

For now, there is absolute silence and total distancing from the '1', who refuses to sign Barça's medical report. 'Matts' understands that the club wants to force his prolonged absence to leave him out of the squad and resolve the registrations of Joan García and Wojciech Szczesny.

The board, however, refers to the ordinary procedure in these cases: send the official medical report to LaLiga and that the Medical Commission of the employers evaluates whether the estimated recovery times correspond or not with the physical condition of the player. 

The AFE agrees with Ter Stegen

As expected, the 'soap opera' has generated diverse reactions in Spanish football. One of the entities to speak out was the Spanish Footballers Association (AFE), which logically agrees with the German. The AFE considers that Ter Stegen has the right to refuse to sign the Azulgrana medical report, protected by the Data Protection Law.

In addition, the Association assures that the opening of a disciplinary file by Barça "violates the rights of the player by initiating an administrative procedure without legal basis." The club decided to open the file to the captain after he ignored the calls to meet with the medical staff and give the 'Ok' to the official report.

Marc-André, in fact, preferred to travel alone to Bordeaux last week to undergo surgery for his back problems, discarding any contact with the Azulgrana doctors. For now, the '1' insists on being able to return in a maximum period of three months, while Barcelona prefers to give him a long-term leave, for more than four months.

With this, the club will be able to save 80% of his salary to register other players. Ter Stegen underwent the same surgery in November 2023 and was medically discharged in the second week of February 2024. However, the doctors this time point to a longer period of absence to avoid relapses. 

Barça will exhaust the legal route to resolve the 'Ter Stegen case'

LaLiga, for its part, insists that, without the goalkeeper's signature, its Medical Commission will not be able to evaluate the detailed report on Ter Stegen's physical condition. In that sense, FC Barcelona will exhaust the legal route to give course to the administrative procedure in the next hours.

The club's lawyers will refer to the labor field, presenting before a court the medical report that confirms the absence and the recovery time of their captain to, subsequently, send it to LaLiga in a timely manner. 

In addition, Barça can allege economic perjury for Marc-André's position, since the goalkeeper will continue to occupy 100% of his salary within the culé squad despite being seriously injured.

This, in turn, impacts the future of Joan García, who, like Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor in the previous year, runs the risk of being left without a federative license despite having already closed his signing, through the payment of the clause and the corresponding CPI.