Various opposition groups have called for Barcelona president Joan Laporta to resign following the fiasco over Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor’s failed registrations.
Ten different parties and supporters’ groups, led by Victor Font’s Sí al Futur and Joan Camprubí Montal’s Som un Clam have come together to demand Laporta step down.
They cite the the “negligence” in registering Olmo and Víctor as one of several reasons behind their movement against the president, who has a mandate to remain in charge until 2026.
The commission paid to third parties in the renewal of the deal with kit supplier Nike, the decision to close the singing section at the Olympic Stadium due to a dispute with supports, and the €100 million ($104.2m) sale of of VIP seats at Camp Nou, which is being renovated, for the next 20 years are also raised as issues.
A statement signed by the 10 groups said that if Laporta does not resign, they will consider raising a vote of no confidence against his presidency.
The fallout follows LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] announcement on Saturday that Barça cannot re-register Olmo and Víctor for a second time this season after they missed a Dec. 31 deadline to prove they were compliant with the league’s financial fair play (FFP) rules.
Barça have announced they will appeal the decision to the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), the highest sports court in Spain.
Club sources continue to believe they will eventually have Olmo and Víctor available again this season, with both players named in the squad due to fly to Saudi Arabia this week for the Spanish Supercopa.
Barça will first ask for a “precautionary measure” to be put in place that allows them both to play pending a final decision in the case, with the team facing Athletic Club in the semifinal on Wednesday before a potential final against Real Madrid or Mallorca on Sunday.
The Catalan club will then argue on several fronts, according to sources, when they take the case to the CSD on Tuesday following a holiday in Spain which has delayed proceedings.
Barça will say force majeure was the reason the €100m sale of VIP boxes, which would have allowed Olmo and Victor to be re-registered, was not completed in time for the Dec. 31 deadline.
The Blaugrana will also fight the interpretation of rules which don’t allow players to be registered twice with the same team in the same season.
Olmo and Víctor were unregistered on Jan. 1. Both had only been granted temporary registrations by LaLiga as Barça took advantage of a rule which allowed them to use 80% of the salary due to a long-term injured player — in this case Andreas Christensen — to register replacements.
Both players have clauses in their contracts which would allow them to leave for free should they not be registered for the second half of the season.
Sources close to the players recognise there is anger at how the situation has unfolded, but add that neither player is currently considering their future, short-term or long-term, away from Barça as they await a resolution.
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