Secretary of State for Sport Miguel Cardenal confirmed his department would support Barcelona’s attempt to register Arda Turan if it reached their jurisdiction.
Barca have tried to have the Turkey international cleared to debut despite their transfer embargo, arguing that it ended when the summer transfer window closed.
The Catalans were barred from registering players for two transfer windows and wanted to use a law that allows for players to be registered outside transfer windows to name Turan to replace Rafinha, who suffered a long-term injury.
FIFA were unreceptive to the idea and told Barca their ban isn’t lifted until the opening of the winter window in January 2016.
AS however reported on Thursday that it is possible for the Sports Council [CSD] to register players and to do so without the need for FIFA or the Spanish Football Federation, the RFEF, to consent.
“This is a FIFA punishment which neither the Spanish government nor the CSD have been part of and I don’t know the details,” Cardenal admitted, AS reports.
“But recently we have seen signs with the sale of TV rights that we defend the Spanish legal system and the application of Spanish legislation.
“In this hypothesis, we would favour the interests of Barcelona and if that is what happened we would not hesitate to give our support.”
AS’ explanation of how Turan could be registered through the CSD began with Barca requesting the midfielder be registered by the LFP.
It’s thought the LFP would have to accept Turan’s registration, as Barca aren’t in breach of any financial issues, and the League would then send the registration to the RFEF.
The RFEF would then be faced with the choice of accepting or rejecting the registration, with the latter more likely on FIFA’s say-so.
Barca could then appeal to the CSD, bypassing the sporting courts, and Cardenal’s department would then have responsibility for the decision.
AS draws a similarity with the 2014 case of Pedro Leon and Getafe, when Getafe chose not to register Leon to avoid breaching the salary cap.
Leon took his case to be allowed to play to the CSD, but in this instance they ruled against the player. His registration was eventually forced by the Commercial Court of Madrid.
