Dani Olmo's Barcelona registration debacle & battle with La Liga finally set to be resolved as precautionary measure ticks down

Spain's Higher Sports Council (CSD) only has until April 7 to make a final decision on Olmo and Victor, with the temporary verdict allowing their pair to continue playing after a deadline registration was missed on New Year's Eve almost set to expire. It has prompted CSD president Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes to confirmed that a judgement following the investigation will be passed down in the "coming days".

Due to financial limitations affecting their salary budget last summer, Barcelona had to find a loophole to register new signings Olmo and Victor with La Liga, able to temporarily de-register the injured Andreas Christensen until the winter break. But when the time came to sort the issue for the second half of the season, having worked to resolve some of the financial barriers, Barca were late. The registrations expired and the club were at risk of falling foul of rules dictating that a player cannot have two separate registrations with the same club in a single season. With Olmo and Victor potentially having to sit out the rest of the campaign, or even permitted to tear up their respective contracts and leave, Barcelona blushes were only spared when an appeal to the CSD allowed the pair to continue playing while the matter was looked at. That time has now come.

Uribes started off, in quotes published by Mundo Deportivo, by praising Real Madrid and "90% of the clubs" for their acceptance of Olmo an Victor's reprieve to remain registered, despite it coming across as Barcelona being able to bypass firm regulations.

"What there has been here is a discrepancy, a disagreement, a conflict, call it what you will, between FC Barcelona, La Liga, and the federation (RFEF), and we, as the Higher Sports Council, feel obligated, in accordance with the Sports Law, which states that athletes must always be protected, to ensure that the players are not harmed by this conflict," he commented.

"In the question of whether or not to play while the underlying issue is resolved, we clearly saw that he had to play. Footballers have the right to a normal professional career, and this is certainly a precedent that we will apply to any other situation, in any other sport."

So while it was imperative fo the CSD to give Olmo and Victor the benefit of the doubt to continue playing, it could still be that Barcelona are eventually ruled to have not followed procedures correctly. If they lose the registration, neither player will be able to feature again this season. That isn't so much of a blow when it comes to Victor, who has been a fringe player at best, but Olmo is a major asset who has the potential to influence the business end of the campaign if he is on the pitch.