Chapter 674: Bans and Controversies
After drawing with Manchester City and conceding an away goal, Barcelona encountered another headache. FIFA announced through its official website that they were imposing a ban on the club from trading players, lasting for 14 months, which equated to two transfer windows.
Over the past year, FIFA's Transfer Matching System (TMS) conducted a detailed review and found serious irregularities in Barcelona's signing of youth players and transfer operations.
Since 2009, FIFA had passed new resolutions to protect the healthy development of underage players nurtured by smaller clubs, aiming to prevent big clubs from endlessly poaching promising talents and then wasting them.
This transfer ban was undoubtedly a further blow to the Catalan club. Although it didn't affect already concluded signing agreements and the return of loaned players, they still urgently needed to overhaul their squad and bring in reinforcements to change their trophy-less situation.
Barcelona's newly appointed president, Bartomeu, was particularly anxious. He was preparing to reorganize the team's midfield and defense, especially with Puyol's departure and Alves struggling with his duties.
Now, facing this punishment, one could easily foresee the defensive vulnerabilities in the next season. If they were to be pressed down again by Real Madrid in the confrontation, this interim leader might not last long.
So, he quickly announced through official channels that they would appeal the ban and even hinted at resorting to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for the final arbitration.
"Barcelona is gathering relevant materials, and we will do everything possible to avoid its enforcement."
In recent years, teams like Chelsea and Nantes had faced similar penalties. To avoid punishment, Barcelona would need to provide concrete and reliable evidence.
Of course, as the summer transfer window drew closer, Barcelona could also involve CAS to delay the process. The advantage of this approach was that it could delay the implementation of the ban as much as possible, without affecting the acquisition of new signings in the summer.
The disadvantages were obvious; FIFA would surely see this as a defiance of authority, leading to even more rigorous scrutiny and punishment.
Spanish media also revealed that Barcelona's defense documents mentioned that they were not the only team in La Liga engaged in such practices. Several clubs, including Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, had similar irregularities.
El Pais reported that initially, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) did not agree to let those illegally registered young players play. However, they eventually yielded to pressure from officials in the Catalonia region and gave them the green light.
This was also why Real Madrid was implicated in this punishment. They were fined �410,000.
Officials from the Madrid region and other regions followed suit and submitted applications. Currently, FIFA had sent personnel to investigate and gather evidence from all La Liga teams.
This transfer ban punishment would directly affect the team's strength, so Wang Feng paid close attention to it. With connections within the club, he specifically inquired about the specifics from familiar high-level officials.
"We'll be much better off than Barcelona." B��ldano explained over the phone, "I won't hide it from you, the club did engage in some irregular operations, but the time frame and number of people involved were far fewer than Barcelona's."
"This time, FIFA mainly wants to set an example, and coupled with the fact that the Spanish Football Federation leans more towards UEFA than FIFA, they just happened to be targeted. Catalonia is completely running into the line of fire."
Hearing this, the Chinese superstar breathed a sigh of relief. These twists and turns were also why he didn't want to get involved in any management positions. As long as Real Madrid wasn't affected, that was all that mattered.
On April 5th, in the 32nd round of La Liga, Real Madrid challenged Real Sociedad away.
The game immediately fell into the rhythm of the Galacticos. In the 11th minute, after accelerating on the wing, Bale sent a cross, and Iguain shot fiercely from the left side of the penalty area.
The ball was barely saved by the home team's goalkeeper, Bravo, but Illarramendi, who was quick to react, slid in and shot into the net.
Ten minutes later, a back pass from Real Sociedad was intercepted, and with Bravo forced to dribble under pressure from Iguain, he hurriedly cleared the ball. However, the clearance lacked power and was intercepted by Wang Feng, who was more than 30 meters away from the goal line.
At this moment, the goalkeeper was far from his goal, unable to return in time. So, the Chinese superstar didn't hesitate to shoot directly.
Bravo was shocked and jumped to save it, but it was futile. He could only watch as the ball went into the net. 2-0!
In the 39th minute, after Di Maria's attempt to break through on the wing failed, he passed to Modric, who then sent a lofted pass into the box. Ramos nodded the ball to Pepe, who followed up with a shot from 10 meters away.
Another 3-0 at halftime!
In the 47th minute of the second half, Wang Feng broke up an opponent's attack with a tackle during a defensive run, but the opponent's studs accidentally cut his calf, causing blood to flow.
All the fans in the stadium and the viewers watching at home were extremely worried. The broadcast cameras specifically focused on the Chinese superstar's injury, showing his white sock almost completely stained red.
Coach Ancelotti immediately made a substitution to replace Wang Feng. This unfortunate incident didn't affect the established result. In the 78th minute, Morata scored a goal, and the final score was fixed at 4-0.
Although the injury was not serious after simple treatment, the Italian still decided to rest Wang Feng for the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals three days later. He wanted to compete as a substitute, but his request was rejected.
"You should rest properly. We need you to perform in more important matches," advised Zidane. With his strong recovery ability over the years, Wang Feng had rarely missed games due to minor injuries, making him the player with the highest average attendance rate in the team in a single season.
However, as he grew older, both the medical team and the coaching staff felt that they could no longer rely on him as recklessly as before. When it was time to rest, they had to resolutely rest.
Atletico Madrid and Barcelona also won their matches in this round, but the Catalan team once again sparked controversy and discussion. The only goal they scored was from a penalty kick.
That was in the 72nd minute when Neymar used his hand to control the ball in the penalty area after receiving a pass from Xavi. The referee did not make a call initially, but then the Brazilian forward's shot hit the arm of the Real Sociedad defender L��pez.
At this point, the referee blew the whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.
Later, Messi converted it, helping them defeat their city rivals 1-0.
Many Spanish media outlets mockingly called Barcelona the "penalty team," using one penalty after another to maintain their victories and cover up their continuous weaknesses.
Marca sharply pointed out that Neymar intentionally handled the ball first, "as long as you're not blind, you can see it," and then his shot hit the arm of the defender, L��pez. Whether Real Sociedad benefited from this was still controversial, but two consecutive controversial incidents led to Barcelona's victory.
AS sarcastically commented, "Barcelona needs Messi's penalties to survive. It's penalties that keep them in the top three of the league table, so they don't fall too far behind the Madrid teams."
Some even pointed out that Barcelona had committed obvious fouls in their own penalty area. When Real Sociedad counterattacked, Javier L��pez was pushed down by Alves in the penalty area, but referee G��mez surprisingly awarded a goal kick to the Catalan team.
American actor Hugh Laurie, star of the TV series "House," criticized Barcelona on social media: "I don't understand how they manage to break their legs every time they touch the ball. Honestly, these guys are like ceramics, they break at the slightest touch."
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