Barcelona take `injury time-out’ as second leg is paralysed

The Catalan club claimed they had insufficient players through injuries and international commitments to be able to field a complete team.

Three minutes after Monday’s scheduled start, the Barcelona players — nine outfield and two goalkeepers — emerged from the tunnel in their strip but stood with their hands behind their backs on the touchline before a virtually empty stadium.

Barcelona captain Josep Guardiola then marched out to the middle of the pitch and, in animated fashion, told his Atletico opposite number Santi Denia and referee Manuel Diaz Vega that the rest of his teammates would be going no further.

After shaking hands with Denia and Diaz Vega — and accompanied by a shrug of the shoulders from Diaz Vega — Guardiola and the other Barcelona players returned to the dressing room.

With their team already 3-0 down after the first leg and the tie always looking as though it was going to be forfeited, Barcelona had advised their supporters to stay away and did not put any tickets on sale.

After Monday’s fiasco, the Spanish press waded in. “Nunez and Van Gaal bring an end to their dirty pantomine, the Spanish Sports daily As thundered, attacking Barcelona president Josep Lluis Nunez and Dutch coach Louis van Gaal.

“Nunez humiliates our football,” Marca declared.

Barcelona had blamed the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) for failing to move the match to their preferred date of May 16.

But RFEF general secretary Gerardo Gonzalez said that Barcelona should have delayed the departure of their six Dutch internationals, who returned home by private plane on Monday to play in Wednesday’s friendly against Scotland.

Gonzalez said that although he was aware that FIFA regulations state that players should be available to their national teams 48 hours before a friendly fixture, the world governing body had a history of being flexible.

“FIFA would not have punished Barcelona,” he said.

“Barcelona could have played the game at seven in the evening and the players would have been with their national team the same night,” he added.

Barcelona have sent a seven-page document stating their case and asked the RFEF on Tuesday to replay the match in may.

“We have not officially withdrawn from the competition,” Barcelona spokesman Jose Maria Antras said.

If the RFEF throw out Barcelona’s case, as seems probable, a year’s ban from the Cup is seen as the most likely outcome. Barcelona face a fine of only two million pesetas ($ 11,300) under Spanish federation regulations.