FIFA have announced that the transfer ban given to Barcelona has been suspended following an appeal by the club.
The Catalans were sanctioned for breaking rules relating to the signing of foreign players under the age of 18 and banned from making any signings for the next two transfer windows.
However, FIFA have today confirmed the punishment has been suspended following an appeal by the club. Barca asked that their appeal lead to the ban being suspended and FIFA’s Appeals Committee have agreed.
A statement on FIFA’s official website has said that the committee’s chairman, Larry Mussenden, ‘took into consideration the sanctions imposed against the club, the complexity of the matter [and] the start date of the next registration period – 1 July 2014.’
Also taken into consideration was ‘the fact that the FIFA Appeal Committee does not seem in a position to take a decision on the main issue early enough so that an eventual appeal of the club against its decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport would still be decided before the beginning of the next registration period.’
“Consequently, the chairman of the FIFA Appeal Committee considered that the appeal lodged by the club is to be granted suspensive effect,” the statement concludes.
