FIFA Impose Transfer Ban On Barcelona For Next Two Consecutive Transfer Windows

Chris Wright

2nd, April 2014

16 Comments

By Chris Wright

Spain Soccer Champions League

Breaking news this morning that FIFA have hit Barcelona with a transfer ban, meaning that the Catalan giants will be prohibited from bringing anyone into the club for the next two complete and consecutive transfer windows.

Basically, barring an appeal, it means that Barca won’t be able to make a signing until summer 2015.

You, as we were, are probably assuming this has something to do with the Neymar fiasco but you’d be wrong – in fact, according to FIFA themselves the punishment is over “breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of U18 players”.

“The investigations concerned several minor players who were registered and participated in competitions with the club over various periods between 2009 and 2013.”

Barca have also been fined €332,000 though the biggest punishment of all is yet to dawn – Jose Pinto will be their first-choice goalkeeper next season.

Serves them right, the naughty little buggers!

Posted in Barcelona, FAIL, La Liga, Newsnow, Transfers & Rumours

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16 Comments

  1. EDub says:

    Wow … this is major. Does that mean they can not transfer anyone out (e.g. Xavi, Valdes, Puyol)?

    • Chris says:

      @EDub: I assume so. Given that Puyol and Valdes aren’t out of contract yet, they may be able to tie them to short-term deals before the ban comes in.

  2. Si says:

    Expect a challenge to be lodged within the next few weeks.

    This will (likely) result in the ban being held in abeyance until the appeal process is completed and allow Barcelona to buy (via pre-agreements or otherwise) and sell as many players and feasibly possible during this time.

    As an aside, FIFA cannot prevent players from leaving the club, as this is contrary to the principle of free movement of workers / persons and, for instance, Valdes could go launch a formal challenge if he were prevented from moving.

    As such, the ban will probably relate to inbound players only, which can be restricted (but, oddly, could also be challenged if swathes of players only wanted to sign for Barcelona, but such a challenge would fall flat on its face and by the time it were determined, the embargo would be over in any case).

  3. Michael says:

    Erm, Yeah…..what Si said. Thanks Si.

  4. Hugo says:

    The ban only concerns U18 players

  5. bob says:

    so now what for reina? are players out of contract not allowed to join barca then?

  6. Nuno says:

    The way I read it is that Barça can’t sign any new players into their team, so that doesn’t say anything for selling them. Although of course if they can’t buy anyone, they surely don’t want to sell anyone.
    Although this may turn in favor of Valdes, as he may ‘blackmail’ Barça into giving him a contract almost like Messi’s…

  7. bob says:

    according to bbc they cant buy or sell players. so id guess they can let players leave for free

  8. Tom the bees fan says:

    all i can say is hahahahahahahahahahahaha
    sorry know its childish but… ha

  9. Neil says:

    Not a Barca fan — though do prefer them to that awful Real Madrid. But anyway, it does seem to me that Barca have been the focus of a witch hunt, I’m sure that there are clubs doing far worse and harmful things to the game (chelsea-vitesse anyone?)

  10. Peter Griffin says:

    I don’t understand. Haven’t most clubs signed international U18 players to their youth academies? How did the likes of Januzaj and Lukaku come up through the ranks?

  11. that’s the biggest pile of …. I’ve ever heard. Go ahead and take the piss out the Spanish league as if it wasn’t lopsided enough as it is. And why does the first team suffer the consequences of a mishandled U18s squad. Fifa’s really getting ridicules. poor guys…

  12. Jarren says:

    That is one hell of a punishment.

    While debatable whether it fits the U18 naughtiness, it is more than adequate punishment for all of Barça’s wrongdoings combined.

    And I’m not even including the crime of making football fans fall asleep during matches.

  13. fñarf says:

    fnarf fnarf fnarf.

  14. Giancarlo says:

    The first team suffers because it was the team executives that are breaking rules! It’s about time Uefalona gets caught doing something naughty.

  15. Nuno says:

    1. As Giancarlo said, it’s the club executives who proceeded wrong, not only the U18 squad, so a penalty to the whole club is fair.
    2. It’s only concerning U18 players signed form DIFFERENT CONFEDERATIONS. In this case, it’s mostly because of some Asians teens they signed. Transfers within the same Continent are allowed, as long as reasonable conditions are provided. So Lukaku and Januzaj are different cases.

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