FC Barcelona will finally find out of they will have to endure a year-long transfer ban from FIFA.
An appeal hearing has been arranged for Dec. 5. at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as Barca questioned their sentence and have now had their appeal fast-tracked so it can be heard, and a decision can be made, before the winter transfer window opens across Europa on Jan. 1.
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The Catalan giants were charged with breaking youth transfer rules by world soccer’s governing body and given a one-year transfer ban which was suspended back in April while the panel processed the case.
Having the sentence suspended allowed Barcelona to stock up on players this summer with Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, defenders Douglas Santos, Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu, plus goalkeepers Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Claudio Bravo all arriving at the Camp Nou.
Barca were first investigated by FIFA back in 2013 when they blocked Barcelona from picking youngsters from South Korea, France, Nigeria and Cameroon for competitive matches. Transfer rules were tightened up in 2010 by FIFA to help stop what they described as “child trafficking” as several youngsters were taken to Europe with promises of lucrative deal with professional teams.
If Barcelona’s ban is upheld in early December, they have now prepared themselves for the worst case scenario with over $200 million spent on new players this summer. So, are they really going to lose out here?