Barca sack director of football

 

Barcelona have sacked their sports director Andoni Zubizarreta, just days after the Court of Arbitration for Sport backed a one year transfer ban against the Spanish club.

Former captain Carles Puyol, who had been his assistant since retiring last year, also left his post on Monday.

 

“The FC Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu has decided to terminate as of today the contract of the Club’s Director of Football, Andoni Zubizarreta,” Barca said in a statement.

“The President, in the name of the Club, thanks Andoni Zubizarreta for his contribution, dedication and professionalism over the last four years in his role at the head of the Club’s football area.”

 

Zubizarreta, 53, kept goal for Barca between 1986 and 1994 and has 126 caps for Spain. He joined the Catalan side as its sporting director in 2010. His contract was not set to expire until 2016.

 

The announcement comes after the Switzerland-based court dismissed a Barcelona appeal against the FIFA ban imposed in April for breaching rules on signing players aged under 18.

 

Barcelona cannot buy players during the transfer window that opens on January 1 and for the summer transfer period before the 2015-16 season. They can only open the cheque book again in January 2016.

 

Barcelona acknowledged making “errors” but said these were caused by “conflict between FIFA regulations and Spanish legislation.”