Real Madrid have had some unlikely backing in the form of Barcelona director Javier Bordas who says the transfer ban handed out to Los Blancos and Atletico de Madrid isn’t either club’s fault.
Both capital clubs were banned from registering players for the next two transfer windows for breaching rules surrounding the signing of minors from overseas. They both strenuously deny the claims made by FIFA and have vowed to overturn the ban – which is similar to the one dished out to Barcelona that ended this month.
Speaking to AS on Friday, Bordas said neither club broke the rules along with Barcelona two years ago and that the spirit of the game was not brought into disrepute.
“The punishments handed to Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid remind me of how it felt when it happened to us. It’s a disproportionate punishment. I believe that none of the three clubs have violated the spirit of the law, and while we may have breached its wording, the punishment is still too strong. I’m convinced that they will fight for the precaution,” he stated.
And he added: “The big difference is that we fulfilled the first punishment and ours looked more serious than [Madrid and Atleti’s], having committed the same offence. We felt [the punishment] was disproportionate when it happened to us. Now that there is already a precedent set, it seems more normal.
“When it happened to us, we found it to be absolutely disproportionate and incomprehensible. Now that there’s a history [of the ban], it seems logical that all who violate the rule are punished. I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault. I think it’s a law which isn’t right.”
