Barcelona transfer ban appeal rejected by CAS

MADRID (Reuters) - Barcelona's appeal against a FIFA sanction for an alleged breach of rules on the transfer of foreign Under-18 players has been rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Spanish club said on Tuesday.





Soccer's world governing body FIFA announced in April it had banned Barca from the transfer market for two consecutive windows and fined them 450,000 Swiss francs (292,939 pounds).

Barca denied wrongdoing and the ban was suspended pending an initial appeal to FIFA, meaning the Catalan club were able to buy and sell players in the close season.

FIFA rejected the appeal and the club decided to challenge the decision at CAS, which heard evidence from Barca officials and youth players at a hearing on Dec. 5.

The CAS decision means Barcelona will not be able to sign any new players until January 2016, although the club said it could appeal the CAS decision to a Swiss federal court.

"FC Barcelona considers the sanction as being absolutely disproportionate as it implies an excessive punishment for the club given its track record," the club said in a statement.

Barca president Josep Bartomeu has fiercely defended their "La Masia" academy, which has produced the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, saying the club have been the victims of a "grave injustice".

"With this sanction, FIFA is punishing a model that has existed for 35 years and which is the essence of this club," he told reporters in April.









(Reporting by Paul Day; Editing by Julien Toyer and Ed Osmond)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world