Will he be sacked for this? Media: Ter Stegen hits back at Barça

There is significant tension between Barça and Marc-André ter Stegen, and the situation could now escalate completely. The Catalans want to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the German goalkeeper. This is reported by the Barça-affiliated newspaper 'Mundo Deportivo'.  

The 33-year-old is allegedly not willing to allow the report of his back surgery to be forwarded to the Medical Commission of the Spanish League. To forward the report, however, the club needs a signed consent form from the player, as it infringes on his privacy, which is protected by Spanish laws.

The Spanish League needs the report to assess how seriously ter Stegen is injured. This would determine whether Barça can save ter Stegen's salary in terms of Financial Fair Play. However, this would only be possible if he is out for more than four months. As 'Mundo Deportivo' also reports, the club would use the saved 80 percent of the salary to register the new goalkeeper Joan Garcia. 

The case is now being referred to the club's legal department, the report continues. A disciplinary procedure is to be initiated here. Depending on the assessment of the club's lawyers, ter Stegen could even be dismissed in the worst-case scenario. 

If it doesn't come to that, he could be suspended without pay for up to 30 days and fined up to 340,000 euros. The club refers to the agreement between the league and the players' union, which provides for severe penalties for the player if the club suffers significant damage.

But why is the German goalkeeper blocking the forwarding of the surgery report? This can currently only be speculated. On one hand, he might want to protect his privacy. On the other hand, ter Stegen might simply want to make life harder for his club or even hope that Garcia cannot be registered and that he himself has better chances of playing again in a few months. 

Either way: The ter Stegen case continues to fuel tensions at FC Barcelona. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 JOSEP LAGO - AFP or Licensors