Barcelona fined measly ￡265 by Spanish FA after being found guilty of tapping up Griezmann – but they’re STILL going to appeal

Posted Saturday, September 28, 2019 by Thesun.co.uk

Barcelona fined measly ￡265 by Spanish FA after being found guilty of tapping up Griezmann – but they’re STILL going to appeal
Antoine Griezmann sealed a move from Atletico Madrid to Barcelona during the summer Credit: Getty - Contributor

BARCELONA are planning to APPEAL the measly ￡265 fine from the Spanish FA over tapping up Antoine Griezmann.

The 28-year-old completed a ￡108million move to the Catalan side this summer after spending five years with Atletico Madrid.

But Diego Simeone's side complained that their league rivals reached an agreement with the Frenchman during the spring - when his buyout was ￡180m.

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) ruled on Thursday that Barca were guilty of a "minor infringement" during negotiations.

A statement read: "Taking into account the economic capacity of the club and the amount of the fine, this committee is aware that the payment of 300 euros, beyond its merely symbolic character, will not damage the sanctioned club and, probably, will not persuade other clubs in the same situation in the future to adjust their conduct to the regulations.

"It is important to highlight that the contacts between FC Barcelona occurred once the player had manifested his intention to leave Atletico Madrid."

SunSport reported that there were fears the Nou Camp could be closed because of the row, but the RFEF determined that was "not a sufficient reason" to impose a one-match stadium ban.

The paltry fine is said to be as low as it is because the Competition Committee could not prove when Griezmann held talks with Barcelona.

The French International has been cleared of any wrongdoing but the La Liga champions are still set to appeal the symbolic fine because accepting it would reportedly be an admission of guilt.

Despite the Spanish FA ruling in Atleti's favour, the punishment works out at just 0.0002 per cent of Griezmann’s transfer fee.

And Los Rojiblancos have 10 days to appeal against the decision.

Griezmann meanwhile hasn't had the best start to life on the field either, with just three goals in his first seven games as a Barcelona player.

The forward has already tasted defeat twice this season but the Catalans looked to have steadied the ship with a 2-1 win over Villarreal to leave them fifth in the table.