Barcelona will make a request to FIFA to register Arda Turan in their squad following the injury to Rafinha in midweek, but they expect it to be rejected.
Rafinha suffered a torn right anterior cruciate ligament in midweek against Roma, meaning he’ll be on the sidelines for a long time. It means Barca, who are unable to register new players in their squad until January due to their transfer ban, are a little light in midfield positions.
Turan is one player who has signed for the club but is not permitted to play until 2016. According to Sport (h/t Sport Witness), the Blaugrana will “insist” an exception can be made due to Rafinha's injury.
“Sport say that Barcelona know the answer will very likely be a big fat NO, but they're going to try anyway,” claim Sport Witness. “Perhaps it's a case of making a point, it's unclear, but it seems a futile exercise.”
In a piece from Sport, former club director Toni Freixa outlines what he feels is a valid case for Barcelona replacing Rafinha in the squad:
According to Freixa, FIFA punished Barcelona "for two transfer windows, last winter and this summer, and that has finished." According to Freixa, the FIFA sanction is now not an excuse for not signing a player.
He says Barcelona should remove Rafinha from the registered players list because of his long-term injury, and ask the RFEF for a permit (under Article 124) to register a new player outside of the window. "FIFA, in this case, has nothing to say, because the sanction has ended," said Freixa.
Sports journalist Rafael Hernandez thinks it’s a request that would be considered for most clubs, but he hints at what he feels is bias toward Barcelona:
Rafinha was a player expected to play a significant part this season. After the departures of Xavi and Pedro in the summer window, there were always going to be more opportunities available to the Brazil international and his early-season cameos had been very impressive. It makes the injury suffered even more galling.
Suddenly, Barcelona have gone from having one of the strongest midfields in European football to being very thinly spread in this area of the pitch. The starting trio remains hugely impressive, with Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic all world-class operators. But beyond them, options are scarce to manager Luis Enrique.
Turan, naturally, would be a major boost to this squad if the Blaugrana could somehow register him early. As we can see here, courtesy of OptaJose, the Turkey international is a player who can knit things together wonderfully:
But it looks likely that Barca will have to go with what they’ve got. Sergi Samper is a young player who has been on the fringes of the first team for a while and could be in line for a step up, while Gerard Gumbau is another one who has been touted for big things after being snapped up by the club in the summer of 2014.
Getting Turan and Aleix Vidal integrated into the squad come January will provide some impetus to this familiar group. But Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez is unsure whether their respective presences will be enough:
Barcelona seem a little desperate, and after the way in which they strode to treble glory last season, the effects of this transfer ban seem to finally be catching up with the European champions. Considering that, Enrique will be hoping for no further injuries, and the collection of players in situ will need to cling on until the winter break.
Given their current predicament, you can’t really blame Barca for asking FIFA for a favour, even if they are likely to be turned away. But with players like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar to call upon, not to mention possibly the finest academy in European football, there are few in the football world who will be feeling too sorry for the Camp Nou club.