The secretary general of the RFEF has explained the body’s role in the case that has seen Barcelona banned from transfer activity until 2015.
The RFEF were also fined by FIFA for their part in the registering of players under the age of 18 from outside Spain, which is prohibited by FIFA regulations. Barca are appealing their punishment.
According to AS, Jorge Perez Arias told SER that the RFEF never accepted the proposed registrations of the players involved.
“The records of the children for which Barca have been sanctioned were processed by the Catalonian Football Federation and we rejected them because they didn’t meet the regulations,” Perez Arias said.
“FIFA said that each case requires the authorization of the players’ status subcommittee and in this case there were no such authorizations.
“We notified the Catalonian Football Federation of this but still they processed the registrations.”
Perez Arias added that in his opinion, the RFEF were fined by FIFA as they are ultimately responsible for the registration of players.
“The rules are very clear but FIFA fined us because we are the ones who are in charge,” Arias noted.
“Barcelona should have applied for authorization in each case and didn’t. We notified the Catalan Federation, who proceeded to issue the records.”
Perez Arias also argued that there is a potential conflict between the laws laid down over the matter by FIFA and those of an individual country.
“Children are protected and you have to understand that FIFA laws are for everyone, but it can be that their rules clash with the particular country,” he pointed out.
