Understanding the difference in the CAS verdict for Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Real Madrid received some good news on Tuesday when the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) decided to reduce the ban from 2 transfer windows to 1. This means that the transfer ban will only be applicable for the January window and Los Blancos will be able to deal normally in the 2017 summer window.
Predictably, this decision was not met well in Catalunya with Barcelona chiefs questioning why they were not given the same treatment when Barcelona were punished for a similar offence. So why did Real Madrid win a reprieve while Barcelona could not?
A detailed look into both the cases show that although on the surface, both the Barcelona and Real Madrid cases look similar, there are plenty of differences. Neither the offences committed by the All whites or the steps taken on the road to CAS were the same as the Catalan giants.
Why Barcelona were dealt with harshly was because even though FIFA reportedly warned Barcelona over the illegal signing of youngsters in the months leading up to the punishment, their words were ignored and the club continued to flout the rules of the game’s governing body.
Their rivals, Real Madrid, on the other hand, heeded the warnings and did not make the same mistakes as Barcelona. Los Blancos immediately after receiving the warnings made a conscious effort to change their policy of signing minors. Also, another major difference was that while Barcelona were pulled up for signing 5 underage players, Real Madrid were caught for only one.
Also, the judges on the CAS tribunal for Barcelona and Real Madrid were completely different. While Barcelona had a three man judge panel, Greek Petros Mavroidis, Israeli Efraim Barak and the German Ulrich Haas, Real Madrid had to present the case to only one magistrate, Swiss national Michele Bernasconi.
With a completely different tribunal and a different case, it was no surprise that Real Madrid got a different verdict and Barcelona will have to buckle down and concentrate on their performances on the pitch.
Real Madrid will be free to sign next summer and with marquee signings like Courtois, Dybala and Aubmaeyang already planned, the Catalan giants will have to be on their toes in the summer transfer window.