The transfer of minors and the need for legal certainty - Analysis of the Barcelona, Real Madrid & Atletico Madrid CAS awards

This article compares three of the most important recent decisions on the protection of minors, issued by FIFA and subsequently confirmed or modified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). They are the cases relating to FC Barcelona1, Real Madrid2 and Atletico Madrid3.

This analysis will take into consideration the applicable law, the related procedures, different strategies taken by each club and the decisions in order to establish:

1. the regulatory infringements and initial sanctions;

2. the grounds of appeal raised by the clubs before CAS;

3. findings of the CAS Panels’;

4. analysis of whether the Awards conforms to basic legal principles, such as the principle of legal certainty.