Spain's Professional Football League have jumped to the defence of Barcelona.

Barcelona have been rocked by the rejection of their appeal against a 2015 transfers ban.

In a statement, the LFP declared:

"Following the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (TAS) ruling, the Professional Football League (LPF) would like to state the following:

"1- Professional football in Spain, and all the clubs associated with it support the policy which protects underage players and is concerned with their development and education.

"2- FC Barcelona and every other professional football club's stance is and will always be in favour of respect, underage players' interests and education.

"3- FC Barcelona's La Masia youth academy is an example to the rest of the world in terms of the educational work it undertakes in its school, which has helped hundreds of underage players to develop into adults whilst learning and perfecting their football.

"4- Any mistakes the club may have made, which the club has acknowledged before the relevant authorities, are all of an administrative nature and caused largely by regulatory conflicts between FIFA and Spanish law."