Barcelona appeal against transfer ban to be heard in December
The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear Barcelona's appeal on Dec. 5 against a one-year transfer ban imposed by the FIFA Appeals Committee for breaking youth transfer rules, the CAS announced Tuesday.
CAS said that Barcelona will seek an annulment of the FIFA decision or a lighter sanction, and that a decision will be issued before the end of the year. The transfer window starts in January.
In August, FIFA rejected the appeal by Barcelona after saying the club’s signing of 10 players to their La Masia program broke the rules covering the protection of minors.
Barcelona was originally punished in April but appealed the decision, allowing the club to spend nearly $240 million in transfers this offseason, including the acquisition of Luis Suarez from Liverpool. FIFA said its reason for imposing the punishment was that Barcelona “infringed the FIFA Regulations on the status and transfer of players.”
FIFA barred Barcelona from signing any players in 2015, ordered the club to pay a fine of $494,000 and gave Barcelona 90 days to "regularize" the situation of all minor players concerned.
After the appeal in August failed, Barcelona announced it would take its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, saying it will “continue defending its interests before the highest sporting authority."
Barcelona currently ranks No. 2 in La Liga, two points behind leader Real Madrid.
- Scooby Axson
