Athletic Club have been placed under a three-transfer window registration ban by FIFA, a move that blocks the Spanish side from registering new players until January 2028, following unresolved regulatory issues identified by the governing body.
The club appeared this week on FIFA’s official registration ban list, a public record used to flag teams that are temporarily barred from registering players because of outstanding administrative, contractual, or regulatory matters.
The entry attached to Athletic sets out a restriction covering the summer 2026 window, the January 2027 window, and the summer 2027 window, with the ability to register new players scheduled to return in the winter window of 2028 if the issue is not settled before then.
Marca reports that the ban is linked to an administrative dispute involving Alex Padilla, the goalkeeper who spent last season on loan at Pumas UNAM before returning to Bilbao this summer.
The Mexican shot-stopper was recalled after Julen Agirrezabala joined Valencia on loan, with Athletic paying around €300,000, the amount set out in the loan agreement, to complete Padilla’s return.
The listing on the registration ban database is only a formal notice, confirming that the club cannot register new players while the case remains open.
Under FIFA rules, clubs stay on the list until all conditions attached to the dispute are met or a final ruling is enforced.
Even with Athletic’s long-standing recruitment policy, which limits signings to Basque-eligible players, the ban carries sporting consequences by narrowing squad planning options across the affected windows.
Similar cases in recent seasons have seen clubs removed from the registration ban list once disputes were resolved, sometimes shortly after the initial listing, following confirmation of compliance from FIFA.
