The Supreme Court (TS) has confirmed the sanction imposed by FC Barcelona on 450 members for having transferred their season tickets, which were used in a ticket counterfeiting scheme by reselling them at very high prices through organized networks and on the Internet.
The decision comes from the Civil Chamber, according to a ruling to which Europa Press has had access, in which the appeal filed by several members is dismissed and the resolution of the Provincial Court of Barcelona, which had already validated the sanctions agreed by the club in 2018, is upheld.
The court emphasizes that the actions of the sanctioned members "constitute a reasonable basis for considering, as the competent body of the association did when imposing the sanction, that it constituted an action contrary to the Statutes that caused material or moral damage of consideration to the club and to other members".
The Chamber further specifies that the disciplinary measure is based on the participation of these members in organized season ticket transfer structures, intended for the insertion of the QR code into counterfeit tickets that were marketed for exorbitant amounts.
"For this reason, the decision of the defendant club to sanction the conduct in accordance with the provisions of art. 74.c] (onerous transfer of the season ticket with the intermediation of organized networks or the Internet), in relation to art. 69.3, third paragraph, of the Statutes (responsibility of the member transferring the season ticket for infractions committed by the transferee)", is read in the resolution.
The Supreme Court also highlights that the appealing members were aware of the facts that motivated the opening of the disciplinary file through the corresponding statement of charges and that they were granted a hearing before the sanction was agreed upon, adopted through a duly reasoned resolution.
The disciplinary decision meant for the affected members, including those who appealed to the High Court, the suspension of their membership for a period of up to 18 months or, in the most serious cases, definitive expulsion from FC Barcelona.