Barcelona Vice-President Jordi Mestre has slammed FIFA for its “senseless” handling Arda Turan’s registration.
La Blaugrana recently hit out at the world football body for its hesistant reply to their request for the midfielder to be made eligible in light of Rafinha’s season-ending injury, and the official reiterated his club’s distaste for the current regime.
“The rules of registering a player after a long injury to a colleague have been applied until now, but ultimately the last word is FIFA’s,” he told Mundo Deportivo.
“It’s not a question of fear [on why Barca haven’t grilled FIFA for answers] but responsibility and thinking about the best for the player, team and club.
“It was easy [to grill them], but ultimately it’s a matter of responsibility and common sense.
“There’s no-one taking responsibility at FIFA. We’re not against FIFA, we have never been. We’re only against their current leaders.
“We respect their presumption of innocence, but when you see one thing and another, it makes Mr Blatter and Co. look bad.
“[The transfer ban] was unfair and disproportionate and particularly hard on the kids [implicated]. It seems that decisions are taken in Zurich without knowing what the club are like and how we treat our kids.
“The last straw [would be stopping kids from living and studying at La Masia]. That would be FIFA acting against its own standards.
“We’ll go all the way [to fight for Arda justice], but we’ve seen senseless precedents set.
“[On Lionel Messi’s tax case], when you receive a car fine, imagine you’re summoned to prison for it.
“It’s a legal issue and not our field, it’s an issue for Messi and his family, but the club will support them if necessary.”
“[On a former Florentino Perez aide being involved in Messi’s indictment], it’s one of those coincidences. People can interpret it how they want.”
