Barcelona will be unable to
make any signings in 2015
after their appeal against a
two-window transfer ban was
rejected by the Court of
Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The Catalan giants were
handed the initial ban by Fifa after being found guilty of
signing underage players from outside of Spain.
And CAS has returned its verdict on Tuesday explaining
that they found no grounds to overturn Fifa's decision,
thereby confirming Barca's ban.
"CAS has dismissed the appeal filed by FC Barcelona
against Fifa regarding the decision issued by the Fifa
Appeals Committee on August 19, 2014," said a CAS
statement.
"The panel found in particular that FC Barcelona had
breached the rules regarding the protection of minors
and the registration of minors attending football
academies... Accordingly, the Fifa decision is confirmed
in full and the sanction remains in force."
Barca's appeal to CAS forced a delay of the initial ban
and allowed them to sign Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Alen
Halilovic and others during the 2014 summer transfer
window.
But CAS’ decision is the final word on the ban, with
Europe’s highest sporting judiciary deciding that the
suspension of activity will now be in effect during the
January window and the summer spending period.
Barcelona will only now be allowed to add to their
squad from January 2016, as well as having to pay a
fine of around €375,000.