FIFA President Sepp Blatter speaks during a news conference in Doha
FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Reuters REUTERS

Fifa have reportedly made a huge mistake in Barcelona's transfer ban, as reports suggest one of the young players involved in the case did not actually contravene article 19 of the governing body's transfer regulations.

Earlier last week Fifa's Disciplinary Committee ruled the Catalan giants registered and fielded 10 foreign players under the age of16 between 2009 and 2013, and will not be allowed to participate in the transfer market for two windows.

According to Fifa, 10 Barcelona youth players are in breach of article 19, which states that under-18 players can only move countries if their parents relocate to the vicinity of the buying club for reasons unrelated to football; if the transfer is within the EU and the player is between 16 and 18; and if the player's home is less than 50km from his country's border, and the parent association of the buying club lies within a similar distance.

However, Spain's Mundo Deportivo reports that just nine players broke article 19, while Fifa made a mistake by includying Guinean Abdoul Diallo in the case.

Mundo Deportivo claims Diallo's parent have resided in Spain (in the Catalan town of Manresa) since 1999, five years before his alleged irregular transfer to Barcelona.

The Spanish newspaper claims that Diallo's father moved to Manresa, a town just 50km from Barcelona, 15 years ago for work reasons, and his wife returned to Guinea to give birth to Abdoul in 2004.

Mundo Deportivo claims Abdoul and his mother moved to Manresa just three months after his birth, and in 2007 they gained permanent residential rights in Spain.

In 2008 Abdoul began playing for a small club, Sagrada Familia, before making the move to the Barcelona academy in 2011.

However Fifa insists Barcelona behaved improperly in signing Abdoul, claiming that he is foreign and that his first Spanish club was Barca, ignoring his spell at Sagrada Familia.

Abdoul left Barcelona last summer to continue his studies but Mundo Deportivo claims that his father is upset about Fifa's decision to sanction Barcelona - having already appointed a lawyer to deal with the case.

FIFA