Barcelona have been issued a small fine of €300 by the Spanish Football Federation relating to the club's signing of Antoine Griezmann. The La Liga champ is reportedly set to appeal the fine.
According to Goal, the fine comes after Griezmann's €120 million move to Barca in July. Barcelona met the Frenchman's release clause after the amount was reduced from €200 million, but according to Atletico Madrid, Barca already had an existing agreement with the player before the clause was lowered.
The tweet below serves as confirmation of the RFEF's fine:
Barça fined €300 (yes, really, we haven't missed out any zeros) for starting talks with Antoine Griezmann while he was under contract with Atleti, without notifying them first. No punishment for Griezmann himself. pic.twitter.com/wpo01Fn4zo — The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) September 26, 2019
Atletico's statement was shared by Sport Witness about their complaint about the transfer:
'Atlético Madrid believes the termination of the contract occurred before the end of last season due to events, acts and demonstrations carried out by the player and that is why we've already started procedures considered appropriate to defend our rights and legitimate interests' — Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) July 12, 2019
To counteract Atleti's accusations, Barcelona counterpart Jose Maria Bartomeu said that it's impossible for Los Rojiblancos to have proof as "there is no evidence of anything."
A club the size of Barcelona FC for sure wouldn't mind paying €300, but doing so would mean they have admitted to a mistake, which they clearly denied, so an appeal simply means that the club is without guilt.
The Spanish FA released a statement saying that this rule was implemented in order to give a player's current club the chance to react. It is understood that Atletico was given a chance to do so since the player himself had been vocal about wanting to leave.
"This committee is aware that the fine of 300 euros, besides the symbolic nature of it, won't lead the sanctioned club and probably other clubs in the same situation in the future to follow the regulations," it stated.
Griezmann's first seven appearances for the Catalan club has earned them three goals and two assists. After he expressed his desire to leave Atletico months ago, the club took in Joao Felix for €126 million as his replacement.
