Fans of FC Barcelona, get used to the squad of players you have right now. You will not see any new faces until January 2016.
On Tuesday the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected Barca’s appeal against their ban, after they were found guilty of “infringing regulations on registering minors as youth players.”
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The ban will now kick in, as expected, from January 1 2015 and last throughout the year with only players loaned out to other clubs able to return to Barcelona.
Barca knew this was likely coming as they were charged with this offense earlier in 2014 but after launching an appeal, they were able to sign more players as the appeals process played out over the summer, with the likes of Luis Suarez, Thomas Vermaelen and Ivan Rakitic arriving.
In a statement on their website, Barcelona were left fuming with the decision and revealed that they are looking into legal action through the Swiss Federal Court.
FC Barcelona wishes to state, with all due respect for the sports authorities, that it totally disagrees with the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced today to confirm the sanction originally imposed by FIFA as a consequence of the alleged breach of regulations on the international transfer of minor footballers.
The Club has made it clear to the FIFA Disciplinary Commission, the FIFA Appeals Commission and the CAS itself that it understands and supports the policy on the protection of minors and the concern for the protection of their development and education.
This is confirmed by how they Club has acted throughout its history, setting an example around the world for the way its young footballers are schooled and educated, and the work that is done on their development. FC Barcelona’s youth structure has enabled hundreds of young players to achieve their dreams and receive a decent upbringing.
The errors that the Club might have committed, and which have been recognised and argued before the corresponding authorities are, in all cases, of an administrative nature and to a large extent have been caused by the existing conflict between the FIFA regulations and Spanish legislation, along with the Club’s conviction that it was acting correctly.
Therefore, FC Barcelona considers the sanction to be completely disproportionate as it supposes an excessive punishment for the Club, when considering its trajectory and the circumstances of this specific case.
In this regard, where the judicial grounds for the CAS decision are announced, the Club shall proceed by studying and evaluating the different legal options available, among others the possibility of appealing against the CAS arbitration to the Swiss Federal Courts.
