In appealing to the CAS, FC Barcelona sought to annul the FIFA decision. The parties agreed to an expedited procedure and a hearing was held at the CAS headquarters on 5 December 2014 where the CAS Panel in charge of the matter (Prof. Petros Mavriodis, Greece, (President), Mr. Efraim Barak, Israel, and Prof. Ulrich Haas, Germany) heard the parties, their representatives and their witnesses.
In view of the need to issue a decision before the opening of the next transfer window, the Panel has issued its decision without the grounds, The full Arbitral Award, with the reasons for the Panel’s decision, will be issued as soon as possible.