Barcelona helper Pedro he denied that the club’s players were considering boycotting the match Spain national team over the surrounding row Dani Olmoregistration.
Olmo – and another Barcelona player Pau Victor — was granted temporary leave this week, while Spain’s CSD sports ministry considers Barcelona’s appeal against LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation’s decision to refuse their registration for the second half of the season.
Both players have now been re-registered pending CSD review and will be available for selection in the Spanish Super Cup final played in Barcelona against Real Madrid on Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Catalan channel TV3 reported that Barcelona’s international players threatened to refuse to play for Spain if Olmo refused to register, in protest at a move that would also prevent him from representing his country.
“People said that the Spanish national team would not go [to play] but I heard it and I was surprised by it, it’s a lie,” Pedri said at a news conference in Jeddah on Saturday. “I wouldn’t say no to the national team, I love playing for the national team. It’s a lie, I hope no one believed it.”
Spanish law obliges players selected by the national team to appear when summoned.
Olmo and Victor were deregistered from LaLiga on December 31 later Barça missed the deadline to demonstrate that they can comply with the league’s team spending limits.
The club later provided the necessary proof, but LaLiga stated that players could not be re-registered due to rules prohibiting a player from registering twice with the same club in the same season.
Barça appealed against this decision and the CSD subsequently issued an interim injunction before ruling.
“This is good news for us,” Pedri said. “The situation they were in is very difficult, knowing they can’t play. Dani Olmo is on the table with me while we eat. It’s hard to travel here without knowing if you can play. I’m very happy for him and he will definitely make a big contribution for Pau.”
LaLiga stated that it was currently reviewing the CSD’s decision ahead of a possible appeal, and many clubs, including Atlético Madrid, issued statements criticizing the decision, arguing that it harmed the league’s financial control.
“Each club has its own opinion on each case,” Pedri said. “I’m happy to have them in the team, they are both important to us. What other people think is their opinion.”
