Barcelona will appeal the transfer ban given to them today by FIFA, a statement from the club has confirmed.
The response, published on the club’s official website, lists 14 points to in response to the sanction imposed on the governing body relating to the signing of foreign players under the age of 18.
Barca argue that their programme acts in the best interests of young players and has been cited by FIFA as an example of a success training model.
The Catalans insist that no player at the club is ‘in an irregular administrative situation’ and add that since FIFA began their investigation into the club’s affairs, none of the players concerned have been named for any competitive matches.
This means, Barca argue, that there has been no case of an improperly or wrongly registered player appearing in a competitive match, which was an associated charge.
Barca also say they have never broken any civil law with regards to the signing of a young player and every player is a legal resident of Spain.
According to the statement, there are '15,000 children in Catalonia in an irregular situation' as they were also born 'outside Spain' but are registered with the Spanish federation.
The club has asked for an injunction on the ban so they are still able to sign players while their appeal is being heard. They add they will take their appeal to CAS if needed.
The RFEF were also fined by FIFA for their role in registering under 18 players.
Barca’s full statement can be read here.
