In September 2016, Club Atlético de Madrid SAD filed an appeal at the CAS against the FIFA AC decision. The Spanish club sought the annulment of the FIFA AC decision and a finding that no sanctions should be imposed on the club.
The arbitration was referred to a panel of CAS arbitrators: Efraim Barak, Israel (President), Romano F. Subiotto, Belgium/UK, and Prof. Ulrich Haas, Germany. A hearing was held at the CAS headquarters on April 24, 2017.
The Panel found that not all of the alleged violations of the FIFA regulations concerning the registration of minor players could be upheld, which justified a reduction of the fine from CHF 900,000 to CHF 550,000 but not of the transfer ban imposed on the club by FIFA.
With this decision, FIFA considers that CAS has shown once again clear and strong support for FIFA’s efforts to protect underage players.
The protection of minors is one of the key pillars of FIFA. Art 2 a) of the FIFA Statutes underlines that one of the objectives of FIFA is to improve the game of football constantly and promote it globally in the light of its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values, particularly through youth and development programmes. As a result, FIFA has put in place a clear regulatory framework that enables it to ensure the protection of minors.