Barcelona officials were in Switzerland earlier today to present their arguments to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the transfer ban currently imposed on the club.
Representatives of the Spanish side hope they can reduce the sanction – which relates to the signing of underage players from outside of Spain – with the hope that Barcelona will be allowed to sign players next summer. The La Liga club is also holding on to the slim hope that the court will lift the transfer embargo immediately, this permitting La Blaugrana to buy players in the upcoming January window.
Carles Folguera, director of La Masia, and Esther Balmana, director of the school where many of Barcelona’s academy players are educated appeared in front of the court. While current youth team players Fabrice Ondoa and Elohor Godswill also spoke on behalf of the club.
Laura Anguera, Barcelona’s lawyer, have her take on the ban and said she believes a decision on the embargo will be announced before Christmas.
The Spanish giants had previously had their appeal against the transfer ban, which is scheduled to end in January 2016, rejected by FIFA.
In April, following a FIFA investigation centered on several players who were registered and played between 2009 and 2013, Barcelona and the Spanish football federation were found guilty of a serious infringement of the rules in relation to ten players.
FIFA placed a two-window transfer embargo on the Catalan club, but that decision was suspended by the governing body following Barcelona’s initial appeal.
That decision allowed the La Liga side to take care of some transfer business this summer. Barcelona were able to complete the signings of Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen – to name a few
