Barcelona have been officially thrown out of Spain's top domestic women's cup competition for fielding an ineligible player.
The domestic champions won't be able to defend their Copa de la Reina title from last season with the Spanish FA (RFEF) having now confirmed that Barca are expelled from the tournament. It means England stars Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh won't be able to win the quadruple in their first season at the club, although Barcelona can still appeal the decision.
The Catalonian giants had defeated Osasuna 9-0 in the Copa de la Reina last 16 earlier this month. But their opponents immediately launched a complaint after it was revealed Barca had fielded an ineligible player. The news comes just days after Barca lifted the Spanish Super Cup after a win over Real Sociedad.
Forward Geyse Ferreira, who scored one of the Barcelona nine goals, should have supposedly faced a one-match ban after she was sent off in the competition last season while at Madrid CFF. Osasuna have reported the incident to the Royal Spanish Football Federation and they have today confirmed that Barcelona are removed from the competition due to the error.
It means they won't be able to win Spain's domestic cup again this season, having retained the trophy for the last three years on the bounce. The Catalonian giants currently sit top of Liga F with 14 wins from 14 games, seven points clear of nearest challengers Levante. Barca are also through to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League after topping Group D ahead of German side Bayern Munich.
But their hopes of a historic sweep of trophies have been dashed by a catastrophic administrative error. Osasuna will now take Barcelona's place in the last eight following their successful complaint, barring any successful appeal from the Catalans.
The Spanish champions have also been fined €1001 (£884) for their actions, but do have 10 days to appeal against the verdict from the RFEF. Ferreira, also known as Pretinha and capped 34 times by her country, signed for the club last June and has proven a successful buy, already on double figures for goals this season. But her involvement against Osasuna has denied them a spot in the last eight of the cup.
Remarkably, Barcelona aren't the only club to be kicked out of Copa de la Reina for this reason this week, with Sevilla suffering the same fate. Sevilla beat Villarreal 1-0 at the same stage of the competition.
But Nagore Calderon came on as a second-half substitute, despite being shown a red card in her previous appearance in the same competition in last year's quarter-finals and like Ferreira should have been serving a suspension.
As per the Barcelona situation, this means Villarreal will progress to the quarter-finals instead, with the competition blown wide open. However Real Madrid were able to progress safely into the last eight with a 6-0 win over Albacete, without breaking any eligibility rules.
