Barcelona's
attempts to dribble around their transfer ban has been kicked into touch by the
game’s governing body, FIFA.
Barca
requested that the Spanish FA ask FIFA, on their behalf, to allow them to
register Arda Turan to cover an injury to midfielder Rafinha, but the request
has been rejected.
FIFA
banned Barcelona from registering players for the last two transfer windows
because they failed to comply with rules on the signing of Under 18s.
Despite
the ban, Barcelona went ahead and signed Turan from Atletico Madrid this summer
as well as Aleix Vidal from Sevilla - aware they would not be able to register
the players with La Liga until January.
But
the club understood FIFA's ban on registering players to have officially ended
on August 31, meaning the only reason preventing them from registering Turan
was the Spanish League rule that no club can register players until the
transfer window reopens in January.
The
exception to this rule is if a club loses a player through injury for longer
than five months they can sign a replacement and last week Barca’s Brazilian
midfielder Rafinha tore cruciate ligaments in his right knee ruling him out for
six months.
Believing
FIFA’s ban had run its course and that league restrictions could be
over-written by the special circumstances – Rafinha’s injury - they officially
approached the Spanish FA (RFEF) who then sought clarification from FIFA.
But
the game’s governing body have said the ban remains in place and Barcelona will
now not be able to register Turan, or any player, until January 2016.
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