Germany international has refused to share his medical records with La Liga to enable emergency injury rule
Barcelona are in a standoff with goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen after the German refused to authorise the club to share his medical information to La Liga.
The Catalan club want to use the league’s emergency injury rule to free up salary space so they can register up to five currently unregistered players this summer.
Ter Stegen recently underwent surgery due to a lower back issue and is expected to be sidelined for months. Under La Liga regulations, if a player is ruled out for a minimum of four months, clubs can have up to half of his salary freed up for new registrations.
However, Barcelona cannot share the player’s medical records with La Liga without his consent due to data privacy and confidentiality laws. Sources close to the situation said the club were preparing the necessary documentation until they were notified that Ter Stegen had refused to sign off on the release.
Barcelona are now considering disciplinary action, including a fine, but the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) have said the club have no legal grounds for punishment because Ter Stegen is within his rights to withhold consent for the sharing of his medical data.
Ter Stegen has had a frosty relationship with the club since he was dropped as first choice goalkeeper after a long-term injury last season. First he was replaced by the impressive albeit 35-year-old Wojciech Szczesny, and this season he has been displaced by the club’s new signing from Espanyol, Joan Garcia.
However, neither Garcia nor Szczesny have been registered this summer due to Barcelona’s struggles with La Liga’s financial rules. Other players who remain unregistered include the on-loan Marcus Rashford, 18-year-old Roony Bardghji, and full-back Gerard Martin.
Club president Joan Laporta said last weekend the higher-ups were “confident that we’ll be able to register everyone”, but indications are the club were hoping to use the opportunity provided by Ter Stegen’s injury for this.
