Barcelona President Josep María Bartomeu on Thursday addressed "the one-year transfer ban which FIFA has dealt the Catalan club for violating rules regarding the transfer of minors," according to Santi Giménez of AS. After reading out a "timeline of all of the correspondence from FIFA, Bartomeu revealed that Barcelona only received the final notice" from FIFA on Tuesday, when the decision had been "made by the Disciplinary Committee" on Nov. 28. Bartomeu also defended the club's La Masia youth academy. Bartomeu: "It’s very strange when they hold a meeting, make such an aggressive and abusive decision then send us a communiqué four months later. You are welcome to interpret that as you wish. I would like to make it clear that Barça is in total agreement with FIFA's rules regarding the protection of minors. ... Here at Barça, you will always find a club which defends the values of education." Bartomeu added, "I would like to say to our club members and to the parents of those involved that we are infuriated by this decision which penalizes a model which has been functioning for 35 years and penalizes the essence of our club -- a model which has been praised by FIFA. Xavi, Iniesta, Messi... We take great care of our young players and are concerned about their education." Bartomeu added that La Masia comprises 230 children from 18 countries, and 40 of those "are not Spanish natives." Bartomeu: "We are not prepared to forgo our educational model and we will defend all of the minors on our books. The message we want to transmit is that La Masía cannot be touched" (AS, 4/3). The EFE reported Barcelona VP Javier Faus "expressed indignation" at the sanctions, explaining that "what is happening is not accidental." Faus: "We will investigate who is behind all of this and when we can show it, we will." Faus said he believes that Barcelona is "a victim of a series of accusations, including doping accusations and attacks on its coaches." Faus: "Now Messi, Neymar ... They are trying to erode the image of Barça, but they will not achieve this" (EFE, 4/3).
OTHER INVESTIGATIONS: In Madrid, Moisés Llorens reported "Spanish football is the focus of FIFA's attention." Sources indicated that Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid are "also being investigated." The investigations "relate to bringing in minors without meeting FIFA's requirements." Real and "Atlético both know that they are being investigated" (AS, 4/2).
