By Andrew Warshaw
September 9 – European powerhouses Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have lost their respective appeals against a transfer ban imposed by FIFA for breaching regulations on the acquisition of non-Spanish minors under the age of 18 and are taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Early this year, the fierce cross-town rivals were united in their shock and dismay after being outlawed from registering players during two windows, following in the footsteps of Barcelona who were also handed a two-window penalty in April 2014.
Because they appealed, the punishment was temporarily lifted and they were allowed to sign players during the just-completed summer window. But they are now in serious danger of being left behind having failed to convince the FIFA appeals committee to overturn the ruling.
In a statement, 11-time European champions Real described the decision as “deeply unjust and contrary to the fundamental principles of disciplinary law”.
Atletico said they had already hired “a team of international experts to defend the case and protect the rights” of the club.
FIFA’s investigation concerned players aged under 18 who played in competitions for Atletico between 2007 and 2014, and Real from 2005-2014.
“Both clubs are to serve a transfer ban that prevents them from registering any players at national and international level for the next two complete and consecutive registration periods for breaching articles 5, 9, 19 and 19bis as well as annexes 2 and 3 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (the “Regulations”),” a FIFA statement said.
“The transfer ban applies to each club as a whole – with the exception of the women’s, futsal and beach soccer teams – and does not prevent the release of players.”
It added both clubs had been given 90 days in which to “regularise the situation of all minor players concerned” and maintained fines of CHF 900,000 on Atletico and CHF 360,000 on Real.
If they lose at CAS, the two clubs will be barred from signing players in January 2017 and again in the summer of the same year. That means they would have to wait until January 2018 to make any new signings.
This summer, Real Madrid’s new arrivals included Brazil midfielder Lucas Silva from Marseille, and striker Alvaro Morata returning to the club from Juventus for €30 million (£25 million). Atletico, meanwhile, signed France striker Kevin Gameiro, Croatia defender Sime Vrsaljko, Italy winger Alessio Cerci and Argentina midfielder Nicolas Gaitan.
In April 2014, Barcelona were banned from signing players in two successive windows after they too breached rules on the transfer of under-18 players. The Catalan giants also took their case to CAS, only to see a final appeal rejected. During their ban, Barca agreed deals for players such as Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal, but crucially they could not play until 2016.
FIFA has strict rules on the international transfer of minors in order to prevent ‘stockpiling’ children who are a long way from home and are often rejected by the club when they fail to make the first team grade. “While international transfers might be favourable to a young player’s sporting career, they are likely to be contrary to the best interests of the vast majority of players as minors,” FIFA said.
“In the past, the trafficking of young players to clubs, mainly in Europe, by unscrupulous persons led to some minors, whose talent may not have met the expectations of the respective clubs, being virtually abandoned on the streets in foreign countries.”
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