Barcelona in limbo as La Liga will not accept medical report without Ter Stegen’s signature | OneFootball

The tension between Barcelona and Marc-Andre ter Stegen has reached a whole new dimension this week.

While the relationship between the two parties had already hit rock bottom, Ter Stegen fueled it further by refusing to sign a document that would have allowed Barcelona to send his medical report to La Liga.

Earlier this summer, Ter Stegen had announced that he would undergo surgery and would be out for three months, which meant that Barcelona could not use his salary to register other players.

The Catalans want to share Ter Stegen’s medical report with the La Liga Medical commission, which would decide whether the player would be out for longer than three months.

La Liga won’t accept the medical report

However, with Ter Stegen refusing to sign the documents, Barcelona are not in a position to forward his medical report to the league.

As per Cadena SER, La Liga has made it clear that without Ter Stegen’s signature, they will not accept or even review the medical report.

Barcelona are not at all happy with Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

There had been speculations that Barça would consider sending the report without the 33-year-old’s approval, as the player himself had previously gone public regarding his condition and potential recovery time in a statement.

However, La Liga are firm that they will not accept or review any reports without the signature of the player in question.

Spanish privacy laws are strict, and under the Data Protection Law, no medical document can be shared without the player’s consent.

This puts Barça in a complicated spot. The club are now reportedly considering opening a disciplinary file against their captain for creating what they consider “serious sporting and economic damage.”

But according to the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE), Barcelona have no legal grounds for punishment, as the player is entirely within his rights to withhold consent.

This puts both parties in a difficult situation, and it will be interesting to see if the Catalans can find a legal loophole to force ter Stegen into releasing the medical report.