After Fifa rejected an appeal against their transfer ban, Barcelona have confirmed they will take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Fifa imposed a 14-month transfer ban on the Spanish giants in April this year, after they were found guilty of breaching the rules on signing international players under the age of 18. The Catalans made an immediate appeal against this ruling, so the suspension was lifted whilst this was being considered by the governing body.
During this pending period Barcelona wasted little time in adding to their squad whilst they could, including paying £65million to take Luis Suarez from Liverpool, £15.8million for Valencia’s Jeremy Mathieu, £15million for Thomas Vermaelen of Arsenal, and a further £9.5million to lure Chile keeper Claudio Bravo from Real Sociedad.
And they are now being tipped to make even more additions to their playing pool following Fifa’s decision to uphold their original ruling, meaning they will be unable to sign anyone during the January 2015 or summer 2016 window. However, the three-time European champions are refusing to accept their punishment just yet.
A short statement on their official club website read: “Following the resolution announced today by Fifa…FC Barcelona announces that it shall continue defending its interests before the highest sporting authority, in this case the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). FC Barcelona may not in any way share a resolution that is an affront to the spirit of our Masia, a world renowned example of academic, human and sporting education.”
