Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor registered as Barcelona players once again

FC Barcelona have had Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor re-registered with La Liga, and are now once again able to play for the club. 

The pair had missed Barça’s Copa del Rey 0-4 win over Barbastro after they were removed from La Liga’s registration, but are now able to line out in Sunday’s Super Cup final against either Real Madrid or Real Mallorca. 

The decision is only a provisional one that comes from the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), a Spanish governmental body that is the highest sports council in the country. The CSD’s decision overrules previous pronouncements from La Liga, the Spanish Football Federation, and two separate courts. 

The provisional decision is one that overrules the regulation that players cannot be registered to the same club twice in one season. The club argued that the spirit of the law was not made for situations such as the case of Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor, who were de-registered after La Liga rejected Barcelona’s justification of their accounts. 

The league competition enforces strict financial measures, balancing how much clubs are allowed to spend on signings and wages relative to what money they bring in. Barça rushed to sell VIP boxes in the future Camp Nou stadium at a price significantly lower than they felt they could have, and this money was used to show that the club once again had the margin to register the players. 

A statement from the institution explained that “the CSD considers that failure to adopt this precautionary measure would cause serious economic and sporting harm to the club and, above all, to the players. This could also harm the interests of the Spanish national team, as well as the rest of the national competitions, including LaLiga. At this time, FC Barcelona and its players are immersed in the Spanish Super Cup, the first official title of the season, with worldwide visibility and impact.”

Barça president Joan Laporta will give a press conference next Tuesday to explain the registration process of the past ten days and answer other questions regarding the sale of future VIP boxes. 

Olmo joined the Catalan club last summer in an initial €48 million deal with RB Leipzig, but was only given a temporary registration for the first half of the season after the long-term injury of Andreas Christensen which allowed the club to allocate the majority of his salary in other departments, namely, the temporary registration of Olmo and Víctor. 

After numerous back-and-forths between the club and the league, the federation, and various courts of appeal, the CSD announced they would investigate the matter on Wednesday. A final decision will come in the next three months, but for now, the players have been given license to play for Barcelona once again.

Reaction 

Recorded in Saudi Arabia, where Barcelona are playing the Spanish Super Cup this week, Joan Laporta was seen celebrating the CSD's decision vigorously. 

Javier Tebas, the head of La Liga, tweeted criticism of the ruling, noting that it was "surprising" how swiftly the governmental body moved in awarding the players the licenses. 

Tebas also criticized that the CSD ignored previous rulings  on the case, and said the move shows "a profound lack of knowledge" on how La Liga and the Football Federation work together.