"AS" reported that a conflict broke out between the Spanish Football Federation and Barcelona over the recruitment of Lamine Yamal. The Spanish Football Federation issued a stern statement announcing that it was forced to remove Yamal from the national team roster and expressed "surprise and dissatisfaction" with Barcelona's approach.
The trigger of the conflict was the treatment of Yamal’s injury. According to a statement from the Football Association, they learned at 13:47 on the start of training camp on Monday that Yamal had undergone "invasive radiofrequency surgery" for pubic discomfort that morning. The Football Association emphasized that this treatment was "without prior communication with the national team's medical team" and they did not receive the relevant report until 22:40 that night. The report recommended that the players rest for 7-10 days.
The Spanish Football Association believes that Barcelona has already planned to let Yamal receive specific treatment. According to reports, it was led by Belgian expert Ernest Hildes, but failed to notify the national team in advance.
However, Barcelona is also angry with the Football Association. They believe Yamal's pubic pain "comes and goes", preventing him from "fully performing" and should have been allowed to withdraw from the call-up from the outset, like Nico Williams at Athletic Bilbao. According to sources, the club has the right to "protect the player and subject him to specific treatment by doctors it deems appropriate".
This incident is the most severe statement ever issued by the Spanish Football Association due to player injury and retirement. The tension has forced the Football Association President Rafael Luzan and Barcelona President Laporta to contact each other to "calm the situation."
This also intensified the conflict between the head coaches of both sides. Barcelona coach Flick publicly criticized after the last national team match day: "Yamal left with discomfort and came back with pain. In the national team, they gave him analgesics" and said that the national team "did not take good care of the players." The national team coach De La Fuente's response was tit for tat: "I neither remember what Flick said, nor am I interested."
In the end, De La Fuente summoned Rayo Vallecano's player Jorge De Frutos to replace Yamal for the next two World Cup qualifiers.
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