One of the biggest stories this week in European football was Barcelona’s transfer ban being overturned temporarily by FIFA, pending an appeal by the club. As a consequence of the ban being placed on hold, Barcelona can now recruit players in the next transfer window.
It was only a few weeks ago where I wrote about the implications of the transfer ban (which you can read here), but with FIFA’s latest move, any implications that could have happened next season has just been thrown out the window.
All of this is great for Barcelona of course. The temporary lifting of the ban means that they can complete the signings of Marc Andre ter Stegen and Alen Halilovic without any complications.
Yet, FIFA and Barcelona, should be held accountable for a mess of a situation. Barcelona were already found guilty of breaching transfer regulations in regards to signing youth players by the same organisation that has placed the 14 month ban on hold.
It is not the first time that FIFA has been a bureaucratic nightmare when it comes to mitigation. The same thing happened only a few years ago to Chelsea when they had a transfer embargo placed on them for illegally recruiting Gael Kakuta. Yet it’s the same story for these big clubs and they will inevitably escape the initial ruling, whilst smaller clubs are left to the slaughter… but that’s for another rant.
It also exposes that FIFA’s rules are pretty much worthless if Barcelona are successful in their appeal. The rule that Barcelona broke stated that any player under the age of 18 cannot move countries unless the parents of that young individual are moving there for non-footballing reason, or if they are from another nation in the EU and are aged between 16 and 18, or if they live within a 100km radius of the club.
I am certain that rule has been broken by many clubs as it is very easy for any parent to say they felt like moving to that country. If Barcelona came knocking on the door of your son, wouldn’t you move in order for him to fulfill his potential—especially if the country your currently based in is economically inferior.
Furthermore, it will no longer matter if the appeal is successful or not. If Barcelona are still found guilty of breaching regulations then all that will happen is that they will get the same transfer embargo placed upon them. And that is an unjust punishment.
The problem with a ban at a later date means that Barcelona can now rectify any problems caused by the initial ban. Barcelona now have the time to fix their core issues such as finding a replacement for Carlos Puyol.
If the ban were to be in place and FIFA did not lift the sanction on Barcelona because of the appeal then things would clearly be very different heading into next season. The club would only have Gerard Pique and Marc Bartra as the club’s only two pure centre backs. They are also known for playing the likes of Javier Mascherano, Alex Song and even Dani Alves at the centre back position to cover up the fact that they don’t really have a centre back.
With the ban in place it would mean that La Liga could have potentially been more competitive with a Barcelona side not 100%. Now they can resolve their problems by pursuing interests such as David Luiz or Vincent Kompany from Chelsea and Manchester City respectively. Barcelona can search for another goalkeeper to replace Valdes in the short term as ter Stegen learns the ropes. They can afford to pursue other midfield talents whilst the likes of Fabregas and Xavi could depart this summer.
The bottom line is simple. Barcelona can now fix their team and ease the “punishment” that FIFA could enforce upon them in the future. So much for any punishment coming their way.
And as for FIFA, it’s come to be more typical and unsurprising of their affairs these days. If they ever wanted to sustain any credibility or legitimacy in their cause to fight for justice then they would not backtrack on this matter. Final Score: Barcelona 1 FIFA regulations 0.
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