Barcelona Could Face Transfer Sanctions For Pursuit Of Antoine Griezmann

Barcelona's pursuit of Atlético Madrid's Antoine Griezmann "could lead to transfer sanctions" for the Catalan club, as happened in '04 when AS Roma signed Philippe Mexes while he was under contract with French side Auxerre, according to MARCA. In June, Griezmann extended his contract with Atlético through '22 "and the Madrid club denounced Barcelona's intention to clinch a deal with the player." Mexes signed for AS Roma without Auxerre's authorization and the French club reported AS Roma to FIFA, which imposed an €8M fine on the Giallorossi, as well as a two-transfer window ban (MARCA, 12/19). SPORT reported former FIFA legal adviser José Paéz said, "No one has ever been sanctioned for a precedent like this. Barça could pay the release clause, given there is one, so Griezmann could always be six months away from his contract expiring. There have been no irregularities" (SPORT, 12/20).