Griezmann: Barcelona to appeal €300 Liga transfer fine
According to Mundo Deportivo, the Camp Nou hierarchy will contest there is no evidence that they spoke to the player while he was under contract at Atlético.
FC Barcelona have announced that the club will appeal against a 300-euro fine imposed by the Spanish Football Federation’s disciplinary committee over alleged irregularities in the signing of Antoine Griezmann from Atlético Madrid last summer.
Barça were handed the fine after Atlético lodged a complaint that the Camp Nou board had been actively negotiating with the France striker while he was still under contract at the Metropolitano, concretely last March when the Griezmann’s minimum release clause stood at 200 million euros. That figure dropped to 120 million on 1 July and the forward subsequently joined Barcelona with Atlético lodging a bid to have the remainder of the original clause paid based on evidence that Rojiblanco director Miguel Ángel Gil Marín stating he was in possession of.
However, Barça have now decided to contest the decision on the basis that they claim no such evidence exists. The Camp Nou has always strenuously denied speaking to Griezmann before his release clause was reduced.
Barça seeking Griezmann exoneration
While the fine is hardly going to put too much of a dent in the Camp Nou coffers, Barcelona are eager to prove that they made no illegal approach for Griezmann and will now send the matter back to the football authorities for consideration, with the club’s goal being to have the fine – and therefore any question of acting improperly – expunged from the books.
In any case, Barça cannot be fined any more than the 300 euros imposed and Atlético are not seeking to recoup the 80-million-euro difference in the eventual deal or to force a one-game closure of Camp Nou, which was ruled out in the original decision by the disciplinary committee.