FIFA hand Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid one-year transfer bans after ban appeal rejected

Sport: FIFA appeal committee on Thursday dismissed appeals filed by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid challenging the one-year transfer ban handed against them by FIFA for breaking rules protecting underage players in January.


The bans which was handed to both clubs in January were later suspended pending the appeals verdicts.

According to FIFA, the two Spanish clubs are now blocked from registering new players in the next two transfer windows, until January 2018.

Under the rule the clubs can agree on deals to sign players but cannot register them to play.


In a FIFA statement released on Thursday, it reads;

"The FIFA Appeal Committee has decided to reject the appeals lodged by Spanish clubs Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid and to confirm in their entirety the decisions rendered by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee in the respective cases relating to the protection of minors."

"As such, both clubs are to serve a transfer ban that prevents them from registering any players at national and international level for the next two complete and consecutive registration periods for breaching articles 5, 9, 19 and 19bis as well as annexes 2 and 3 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (the 'Regulations').

"The transfer ban applies to each club as a whole -- with the exception of the women's, futsal and beach soccer teams -- and does not prevent the release of players.

"Additionally, Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid have been fined CHF 900,000 and CHF 360,000 respectively, while both clubs have been issued with a reprimand and a warning and given 90 days in which to regularise the situation of all minor players concerned."

The two Madrid clubs can launch an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.