Barcelona aware of UEFA Champions League punishment – expect financial sanction

Barcelona were back in the headlines on Tuesday evening for their finances. This time it is UEFA and not La Liga they have fallen foul of, and it could see them punished in the Champions League.

The Blaugrana currently have a legal case open with La Liga over the registrations of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor this season. Both were registered only after an appeal to the High Court for Sport in Spain, with La Liga and the RFEF unregistering them as Barcelona players, due to the fact Barcelona by their judgement had not managed to increase their salary limit in time to maintain their registration.

In October, Barcelona were fined €500k by UEFA for failing to comply with their financial fair play regulations, with the governing body saying Barcelona incorrectly classified some of their assets to alter the calculations. Now with this being the second infringement, the word has been that Barcelona are at risk of a potential sporting sanction for next season’s Champions League, which could include playing with a reduced squad or a points deduction in the league phase of the competition.

However as explained by El Chiringuito, this is not news to Barcelona. They were aware that UEFA could sanction them again due to infringements from previous seasons. However they are not concerned by the potential sanctions, saying that they very much expect it to be a fine rather than a sporting punishment.

Notably, it is explained that Barcelona expect the fine to be less than the €500k that they paid this season. That is partly due to the fact that it pertains to previous seasons, and that after investigating, UEFA have established that Barcelona acted ‘correctly’ to rectify the issue thereafter.