International Sports Court halves Real's penalty

Real will only be banned from buying players for one transfer window, instead of two as originally sanctioned.

The only transfer window that Real will have to serve the penalty is the next winter transfer window (January 2017), the club said in a statement on the afternoon of December 20. In addition to having the penalty reduced by half, Real also had the fine reduced from about $440,000 to $290,000.

Previously, due to evidence of violating regulations on the transfer of players under 18 years old, FIFA decided to punish Real by banning them from buying players for one year. The time of application is 2017.

After failing to appeal to FIFA in September 2016, Real filed a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This action has been somewhat successful.

Real may welcome more stars from next summer. Photo: Reuters

"The CAS decision highlights the injustice caused by the initial FIFA ban. The club also regrets that CAS lacked the courage to revoke the entire ban," Real's statement said.

With a transfer ban only in the January 2017 transfer window, Real can freely shop from next summer. This is an opportunity for the newly-crowned FIFA Club World Cup champion to soon buy Aubameyang, the player leading the race for the 2016-2017 European Golden Shoe.

Atletico, the club that was punished at the same time and with the same penalty as Real, has not yet announced anything about the CAS decision. Previously, another Spanish club, Barca, was also punished for the same crime but did not have its sentence reduced.

According to VNE