Barcelona President Joan Laporta Urged To Resign Amid Saga Dani Olmo

JAKARTA - Various opposition groups have called for Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, to resign following the failed registration of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor.

Ten different parties and support groups, led by Victor Font's Si al Futur and Joan Camprubi Montal's Som unclam, have united to demand Laporta withdraw.

They called negligence in registering Olmo and Victor as one of the several reasons behind their movement against Barcelona president, who has a mandate to rule until 2026.

The commission paid to third parties in an agreement update with Nike, the decision to close the stands at the Olympic Stadium due to disputes with supporters, and the sale of VIP seats worth 100 million euros at Camp Nou - which is being renovated - for the next 20 years has also been raised as a problem.

A statement signed by the 10 groups said if Laporta did not resign, they would consider filing a motion of not believing in his leadership at the club.

Meanwhile, the announcement of La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Saturday, January 4, 2025, that Barcelona could not re-registered Olmo and Victor to the height of the group's anger.

For the second time this season, they missed a deadline of December 31, 2024 to prove that they comply with league Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

Barcelona have announced that they will appeal the decision to the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), Spain's highest sporting court.

The Blaugrana will first ask for precautions that allow the two of them to play pending a final decision in the case.

No wonder Olmo and Victor are included in the squad that will fly to Saudi Arabia this week for the Spanish Super Cup semifinals (Supercopa de Espana).

Hansi Flick's men will face Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, January 9, 2025, before the possible final against Real Madrid or Mallorca on Sunday, January 12, 2025.

The Catalan club will then argue in several areas, when they take the case to CSD on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, after a vacation that has postponed the legal process.

Barcelona will say that force majeure is the reason for the sale of VIP boxes worth 100 million euros, which will allow Olmo and Victor to re-registered, not completed on time for December 31, 2024.

The Blaugrana will also go against interpretations of rules that do not allow players to be registered twice with the same team in the same season.

Olmo and Victor canceled their registration on January 1, 2025. Both were only given temporary registration in the first half of the season by La Liga as Barcelona took advantage of rules that allow them to use 80 percent of their salaries because players with long-term injuries - in this case Andreas Christensen - to register as substitutes.

Both players have clauses in their contracts that allow them to leave for free if they are not registered for the second half of the season.

Sources close to the players acknowledge anger over the situation. They also added that currently none of them are considering the future, short-term or long-term, outside Barcelona pending resolution.