Barcelona have been cleared to play in the 2023-24 Champions League, UEFA has confirmed.
- UEFA confirm Barca can compete
- Have not ruled out further sanctions
- Could have been excluded
WHAT HAPPENED? UEFA has confirmed that Barcelona are free to play in this season’s Champions League. They were charged with corruption in March over alleged payments made to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the vice-president of Spanish football’s refereeing committee.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The legal case is still ongoing, however, and UEFA has not ruled out the prospect of punishing the Catalan club in the future. As it stands, though, they will be playing in Europe’s elite club competition.
WHAT THEY SAID?: UEFA said in a statement: “The UEFA Appeals Body has taken the following decision with regards to the admission of FC Barcelona in the 2023/24 UEFA club competitions.
“The proceedings concerning the admission of FC Barcelona to the 2023/2024 UEFA club competitions are suspended and may be resumed, ex officio, or at the request of the Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors (EDIs) in charge of the case.
“FC Barcelona is provisionally admitted to take part in the 2023/2024 UEFA club competitions. A future decision on admission/exclusion from the UEFA club competitions is reserved.
“FC Barcelona is obliged to keep the EDIs informed of the progress of the ongoing investigations proactively and to provide the EDIs with all the documents and information they request.
“The EDIs in charge of the case are invited to continue and finalise their investigation and to send a further report to the UEFA Appeals Body if and when they consider that the admission/exclusion of FC Barcelona should be assessed.”
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WHAT NEXT? Barcelona play Real Madrid in a marquee pre-season friendly in two days.
