Barça transfer ban upheld by Court of Arbitration for Sport

Nou Camp Barcelona
FC Barcelona’s 2 window transfer ban by FIFA has been upheld by CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) which means the Catalan giants are unable to make any new signings in 2015.

This is a major blow to Barcelona and would be a killer blow to any top tier football club in Europe if they were banned for two windows. This was not the outcome Barça expected and it looks like the Catalans will now have to get on with it and show us what they’ve got in terms of talent from La Masia.

Barcelona were banned by FIFA for signing underage players from outside Spain and Tuesday’s verdict by CAS means they found no grounds for overturning FIFA’s sanction.

A CAS statement read: “CAS has dismissed the appeal filed by FC Barcelona against Fifa regarding the decision issued by the Fifa Appeals Committee on August 19, 2014.”

“The panel found in particular that FC Barcelona had breached the rules regarding the protection of minors and the registration of minors attending football academies. Accordingly, the Fifa decision is confirmed in full and the sanction remains in force.”

The club has also been handed a fine of €375,000 and will not be able to sign any players until January 2016. However, the Catalans did manage to get around the ban initially by forcing a delay of the ban by appealing to the Court of Arbitration and that move allowed the club to sign the likes of Luis Suárez, Ivan Rakitic and youngster Alen Halilovic.

CAS’s decision is now final and the Catalans will be unable to appeal further which means they will have to sit out January’s transfer window along with the summer one.

About Aaron

My name's Aaron and I'm a great Barça fan. I like to tell it like it is and if there is something I don't like about the club or something that needs addressing, you'll know!