FIFA place transfer ban on Barcelona

FIFA on Wednesday banned Spanish giants
Barcelona from buying or selling players for
the next two transfer windows for "serious"
breaches of rules on under-age players.
FIFA's Disciplinary Committee found Barcelona
and the Spanish Football Association (RFEF)
guilty of making or allowing illegal deals.
As well as the transfer ban, which will
effectively last 14 months, FIFA fined
Barcelona 450,000 Swiss francs, (369,000
euros, $509,000).
The Spanish champions were given 90 days to
regularise the situation of all 10 minor players
concerned.
The club made no immediate official reaction
but are expected to appeal against the shock
sanction.
The ban is a new blow to the image of Europe's
most successful club of the 21st Century
following alleged tax evasion in its signing of
star Brazilian Neymar.
If upheld, the ban would have serious
consequences for Barcelona, especially with
veterans Carles Puyol and injured goalkeeper
Victor Valdes set to leave in June.
The Catalans were expected to complete the
signing of German international goalkeeper
Andre Ter-Stegen to replace Valdes.
Croatian international Alen Halilovic's move to
the club, officially announced last week, is
however authorised under FIFA's rules.
In February last year FIFA banned six
Barcelona youth team players from
competitive games, Lee Seung-Woo, Paik
Seung-Ho and Jang Gyeol-Hee from South
Korea, Patrice Sousia of Cameroon, France's
Theo Chendri and Bobby Adekanye, a Nigerian-
Dutch teenager.
In 2010, FIFA imposed a similar transfer
window ban against Chelsea over the signing of
French youngster Gael Kakuta. It was
overturned after Chelsea reached an agreement
with the player's former club Lens.
"The Disciplinary Committee regarded the
infringements as serious and decided to
sanction the club with a transfer ban at both
national and international level for two
complete and consecutive transfer periods," a
FIFA statement announced.
The dramatic sanction follows an investigation
last year by FIFA, whose rules state that a
player has to be 18 to be transferred, unless
the player falls into one of three specific cases.
FIFA fined the Spanish federation 500,000
Swiss francs for their role in the under-age
player affair and gave them one year to modify
rules concerning international transfers of
minors.
FIFA found Barcelona and the Spanish
federation guilty of illegal deals involving "the
international transfer and first registration of
non-Spanish minors with the club".
The dates of the Spanish transfer windows
covered by Wednesday's punishment are July
1-August 31 for the pre-season window and
January 1-February 1 for the mid-season
window.
The world body looked at cases involving
players signed by Barcelona between 2009 and
2013.
International rules ban any transfer of a minor
unless the player's parents have moved
country; the move takes place within the
European Union if a player is aged between 16
and 18; or the player's home is less than 50
kilometers (31 miles) from the national border
being crossed.
Barcelona were caught out by FIFA's web-
based Transfer Matching System which became
mandatory for all international transfers of
professional male footballers in October 2010.
FIFA said it took the protection of minors in
football "very seriously", and warned that
"young football players are vulnerable to
exploitation and abuse in a foreign country
without the proper controls."
The sanction came less than 24 hours after
Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in
the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Barca's goal was scored by Neymar, whose
scandal-mired transfer triggered the downfall
of Barca president Sandro Rosell and saw the
club indicted for an alleged tax fraud of 13.5
million euros.
Barca have protested their innocence
throughout the Neymar inquiry by a Spanish
judge.