By Andrew Warshaw
January 15 – Real Madrid and their cross-town rivals Atletico have reacted with shock and dismay after being slapped with transfer bans by FIFA for breaching regulations on the acquisition of non-Spanish minors under the age of 18.
The two clubs have been outlawed from registering players during next summer’s window and the winter one after, following in the footsteps of Barcelona who were also handed a two-window penalty in April 2014.
Real and Atletico are free to buy and sell during the current window that runs until the end of this month but will then have their ambitions halted in their tracks while the rest of Europe’s elite carries on trading. Atletico were also fined SFr900,000 while Real were told to pay SFr360,000.
“The two clubs were found to have violated several provisions concerning the international transfer and first registration of minor players as well as other relevant provisions with regard to the registration and participation of certain players in competitions,” FIFA said in a statement.
FIFA’s investigation covered players who participated in competitions between 2007 and 2014 in the case of Atletico, and between 2005 and 2014 in the case of Real.
“FIFA works hard to protect the rights of players under the age of 18 – whether male or female, amateur or professional,” the statement added.
“This is done through the enforcement of regulations prohibiting the international transfer of minors, or the first registration of minors in a country other than their own, except in specific circumstances.”
Real, who have just taken on a new coach Zinedine Zidane, have already been thrown out of the Spanish cup for fielding an ineigible player and, like Barcelona before them, both Madrid giants will appeal the sanctions that will otherwise prevent them from registering new signings until July 2017 once the present transfer window closes. They will be mindful of the fact that Barcelona managed to drag out their appeal to allow them to sign Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic in the summer of 2014.
The world’s richest club by income, Real denied any wrongdoing and both teams released bullish statements defending their respective positions. “Our club does not agree with the sanctioning ruling from the international football body and is studying the documentation received to lodge an appeal,” Atletico Madrid said.
Real released a longer statement criticising FIFA’s verdict.
The club said it never used foreign underage players without registering them with the Spanish soccer federation, nor signed them without complying with the required procedures. Real added that it has always informed the Spanish federation about all players at its youth academy.
“Real Madrid will appeal to all levels of sporting courts because it considers this decision inappropriate,” the club said. Last year, amid reports of a possible ban, Real said it had “always scrupulously adhered to the FIFA regulations” and director general Jose Angel Sanchez called the ban “absolutely unjustified” and “totally unexpected”, saying he had “high hopes” of overturning it on appeal.
Both clubs will be allowed to bring back players on loan to other clubs and can also sell during the two-window ban – but not buy. “The provisions relating to the protection of minors need to be strictly applied,” FIFA explained. “Opening up the door to exceptions beyond those carefully drafted and included in the regulations would unavoidably lead to cases of circumvention of the rationale for these provisions.”
Theoretically, the ban could have an immediate impact on a string of players that Real may be interested in buying of offloading. They are especially keen on Manchester United keeper David De Gea, whose deadline-day transfer last summer collapsed. But if they were to buy De Gea, he may not be able to play until the 2017-18 season.
The ban also reduces the likelihood of Christiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale leaving, with Real knowing they would not be able to bring in players of similar quality and immediately field them.
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