Overview
- The Royal Spanish Football Federation imposed a €602 fine on Barcelona on Tuesday after finding the club breached rules on contacting a contracted player.
- The ruling was issued under Article 133, which treats failures to follow organisational or notification obligations as minor offences and allows only modest financial penalties.
- Atlético Madrid lodged formal complaints with the RFEF and FIFA in June over Barcelona’s pursuit of Álvarez and FIFA declined to take the case because it had no jurisdiction between two clubs in the same federation.
- Barcelona has told media it will appeal or refuse to pay the trivial fine according to press reports, keeping the dispute active despite the formal closure of proceedings.
- Julián Álvarez remains at Atlético, has publicly apologised for summer remarks about wanting to play for Barcelona, and has worked to repair relations with fans by scoring key goals since the episode, a dynamic that echoes a similar 2019 Griezmann complaint that also led to a small fine.