ZURICH // Fifa on Thursday dismissed appeals by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid against a ban on registering new players in the next two transfer windows for irregularities in the signing of foreign players under 18.
Real, who called the ruling “profoundly unfair”, and Atletico were also fined 360,000 (Dh1.36 million) and 900,000 (Dh3.4 million) Swiss Francs respectively.
However, the two Spanish giants – last season’s Uefa Champions League finalists – have announced they will launch a final appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
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“The Fifa Appeal Committee has decided to reject the appeals lodged by Spanish clubs Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid and to confirm in their entirety the decisions rendered by the Fifa Disciplinary Committee in the respective cases relating to the protection of minors,” Fifa said in a statement.
Both clubs were sanctioned in January, but by appealing had temporarily held off the ban during the transfer window which closed last month.
They will now not be able to register any new players in either of the next two windows, in January 2017 and July-August 2017, before being able to do so once again in January 2018.
Barcelona served a similar ban in 2015, with an appeal to Cas proving unsuccessful in their case.
European champions Real responded by saying they will now go to the Cas in an attempt to have the decision overturned “as quickly as possible”.
“The club regrets the decision on the ground that it is profoundly unfair and contrary to the most elementary principles of penal law,” read a statement posted on their website.
“The club will begin the appropriate appeals procedure before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, requesting that the decision be completely overturned, with absolute confidence that said organisation will come to an entirely favourable decision.
“Real Madrid will request that the procedure be undertaken in an urgent manner in order to obtain a decision from the Cas as quickly as possible.”
Under international football rules, players under 18 cannot be transferred to another country, except in limited circumstances, and all transfers need the approval of a special Fifa committee.
Atletico insisted they had such clearance from Fifa for the players under investigation.
“Our club does not agree with the ruling and therefore has decided to appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” Atletico said in a statement.
“Our organisation wishes to state that one hundred per cent of the licenses of our players who are part of this investigation and continue at the club have been regularised by Fifa itself, receiving authorisation from the sub-committee to process the license and compete in different [under-age] categories.”
Atletico used the summer window to make several new signings, including those of France striker Kevin Gameiro from Sevilla and Argentina midfielder Nicolas Gaitan from Benfica.
Real had an unusually quiet summer in the transfer market, although they did bring Spain striker Alvaro Morata back to the club from Juventus for around €30 million (Dh124m).
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The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
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Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
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2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait this month is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
UAE’s fixtures: Fri Apr 20, UAE v Qatar; Sat Apr 21, UAE v Saudi Arabia; Mon Apr 23, UAE v Bahrain; Tue Apr 24, UAE v Maldives; Thu Apr 26, UAE v Kuwait
World T20 2020 Qualifying process:
- Sixteen teams will play at the World T20 in two years’ time.
- Australia have already qualified as hosts
- Nine places are available to the top nine ranked sides in the ICC’s T20i standings, not including Australia, on Dec 31, 2018.
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World T20 standings: 1 Pakistan; 2 Australia; 3 India; 4 New Zealand; 5 England; 6 South Africa; 7 West Indies; 8 Sri Lanka; 9 Afghanistan; 10 Bangladesh; 11 Scotland; 12 Zimbabwe; 13 UAE; 14 Netherlands; 15 Hong Kong; 16 Papua New Guinea; 17 Oman; 18 Ireland
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Dos
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- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
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“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Monster Hunter: World
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PlayStation 4, Xbox One
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