MADRID: Real and Atletico Madrid may be next to pay a transfer ban penalty for breaching FIFA’s rules and regulations concerning the international tranfers of under-age players.

Last year European and Spanish champions Barcelona were subject to a two-window transfer ban while a fine was imposed on the Spanish federation for lax regulation.

Now that the Spanish federation’s appeal has been largely rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne it is thought that the way has been cleared for possible FIFA action against the Madrid clubs.

The CAS case concerned breaches permitted by the FEF concerning the international transfer and first registration with Barcelona of non-Spanish players under the age of 18.

An original fine of SFr5000,000 on the FEF was trimmed to SFr280,000 but the substance of the FIFA verdct was confirmed.

A FIFA statement said: “The protection of minors is of major importance for FIFA. Young footballers are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation when they are in a foreign country without the appropriate controls.

“For FIFA, protecting the appropriate and stable development of a minor as a whole should prevail over purely sporting interests.”

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