Barcelona Accused of Fielding an Illegal Player in La Liga Clash As Elche Launch Protest

• Elche have launched a protest against Barcelona for fielding Gavi in their La Liga clash on Saturday
• The bottom placed side were thrashed 4-0 by Barcelona with Gavi playing a key role for La Blaugrana
• The Spanish midfielder recently saw his first team contract cancelled by La Liga after a court ruling

La Liga side Elche are looking into the possibility of appealing their result against Barcelona after accusing the Catalan giants of fielding an ineligible player.

Elche were comfortably dispatched 4-0 by Xavi’s men as they stretched their lead at the top of La Liga to 15 points ahead of Real Madrid.

According to Marca, Elche are believed to be unhappy with the involvement of young midfielder Gavi whose first-team contract was withdrawn by La Liga after a court ruling.

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RFEF’s laws prevent a player from being allowed to play in the same season with a cancelled license according to Football Espana reports and Elche are holding on to this rule.

Gavi has made 26 league appearances this season and has contributed immensely for the Catalan giants as they push their way to the La Liga title.

La Liga stands with Barcelona

Meanwhile, Elche's protests against Barcelona have been dismissed by both La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) after claims the Catalans fielded an ineligible player.

According to Tribal Football, the league and the federation have assured that everything is beyond reproach with Gavi's inclusion in the game despite having his first-team registration revoked.

Barcelona would therefore avoid any punishment from La Liga as the Catalans could have been stripped of all three points if they had been found guilty of the offense.

Leaders Barcelona cruise past Elche

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Earlier, Sports Brief reported Robert Lewandowski struck twice as Barcelona moved 15 points clear at the top of La Liga with a comfortable 4-0 win at Elche on Saturday.

The Polish forward has endured a small dip in form recently but was back to his lethal best to continue the Catalans' procession towards the title.

Ansu Fati also found the net for the first time since October in the league and Ferran Torres rounded out the comfortable win.