Barcelona hit with stunning €23 million fine by the National Court - Reports
Barcelona's financial woes seem to be piling on, with multiple reports suggesting that the Catalan giants have incurred a gigantic fine of €23m due to unlawful dealings. Despite the Blaugrana battling the allegations earlier, Spain's National Court has seemingly confirmed the punishment, which could lead to an economic crisis at the Camp Nou.
The reigning Spanish champions have become a shadow of their former self, with both their on-field and off-field influence being dealt a huge blow under former president Josep Bartomeu's regime.
While the current upper management of the club has attempted to relieve the pressure by activating several economic levers, a fine of €23m could once again derail the proceedings.
As reported by renowned media outlets such as Diario AS and El Chiringuito, the Catalan giants have been convicted of incorrectly paying tax on player agent fees between 2012 and 2015. The Central Economic-Administrative Court's (TEAC) initial ruling on the matter has recently been confirmed by Spain's National Court, forcing Barcelona to reconsider their options.
The club had previously appealed against TEAC's ruling of June 2020 but have seemingly found no success in their filing. Initially required to meet a tax settlement of $9.45m, additional penalties amounting to $15.09m for a period between 2012 to 2015 have also been levied on Barcelona.
With increasing financial issues, the five-time Champions League winners have the nearly impossible task of setting things right in a short period of time. As per a report by Marca, the club needs to raise another €100m if they wish to return to signing players without breaching the Financial Fair Play.
Barcelona issue an official statement about the fine
Shortly after the fine was publicized, an official statement from Barcelona was released providing clarification, as well as the next course of steps for the club. The declaration stated that the Blaugrana would be taking the issue to Spain's Supreme Court with hopes of obtaining justice.
The statement further claimed that the Contentious-Administrative House at the National Court has missed taking the Supreme Court's most recent jurisprudence on the matter into consideration. Barcelona believe that other clubs facing similar issues have reaped the benefits of the said philosophy of law, an advantage that the La Liga side have been denied.
Another section of the National Court had previously accepted an appeal from the club regarding a similar matter. Overall, the Blaugrana believe that they are not obligated to process any point at the present, and the contingency is currently being provisioned in their annual accounts.