adminLONDON. — Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said yesterday that he supports Fifa’s decision to hand Barcelona a year-long transfer ban for breaching rules on signing under-age players.The Spanish champions were sanctioned on Wednesday by Fifa’s disciplinary committee for breaking regulations in the cases of 10 players aged under 18 who were signed between 2009 and 2013.
They were banned from signing players in either of the next two transfer windows and fined 450 000 Swiss francs (US$509 000), although the club say they will appeal to Fifa and, if necessary, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“Certainly they have not respected the rules,” said Wenger, who believes the whole system needs reviewing for the good of the game.
Under Fifa’s rules, a player under the age of 18 can only be transferred if the player’s parents have moved country; the move takes place within the European Union if a player is aged between 16 and 18; or the player’s home is less than 50 kilometres from the national border being crossed. — AFP.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter