Barcelona's transfer ban suspended by Fifa pending appeal

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/23/barcelona-transfer-ban-suspended-fifa

Version 0 of 2.

Barcelona are free to sign players in the summer transfer window after a Fifa ban imposed for breaching rules relating to youth players was suspended until after the appeal process has been exhausted.

The chairman of Fifa's appeal committee, Larry Mussenden, said he had decided to grant the "suspensive effect" sought by the Spanish club.

He said the decision was taken after considering the complexity of the matter and the fact that the committee would not be able to hear the case early enough to permit a final appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport before the transfer window opened on July 1.

The decision, which could increase the chances of Chelsea's David Luiz moving to the Catalan club this summer and freeing up transfer funds for Jose Mourinho, is significant because it will allow Barcelona to sign players ahead of any potential ban being imposed.

With key players, including Carles Puyol and Victor Valdes, having already announced their intention to leave at the end of the season it will allow the club to embark on a rebuilding programme.

Barcelona were originally hit with a ban covering the next two transfer windows after Fifa found them guilty of breaching rules relating to the international transfer and registration of players under 18. As it stood, that would have left the Spanish champions unable to sign players until the summer of 2015.

Players under 18 can move to a club in a different country if their parents move there for non-footballing reasons, if they are from another nation within the European Union or European Economic Area and aged between 16 and 18, or if they live within 100km of the club.

A Fifa investigation - centred on several players who were registered and played for the club between 2009 and 2013 - found that Barcelona and the the Spanish football federation were guilty of a "serious" infringement of the rules in relation to 10 players.

Barcelona were also fined 450,000 Swiss francs while the Spanish FA was hit with a fine of 500,000 Swiss francs and given a year to "regularise its regulatory framework and existing system concerning the international transfer of minors in football".

The club, already under pressure following earlier allegations of tax evasion surrounding the purchase of Neymar, has endured a difficult campaign that has included the departure of president Sandro Rossell and under performance on the pitch relative to their recent stellar record.

Fifa has recently made the protection of minors a priority. In its original decision it said: "On the basis of this analysis, the committee concluded that 'the interest in protecting the appropriate and healthy development of a minor as a whole must prevail over purely sporting interests'."