FIFA have rejected Barcelona's attempt to use a little-known rule to register Arda Turan, who is currently in limbo, in place of long-term injury absentee Rafinha, according to reports in Spain.
Turkey playmaker Turan and Spain right-sided player Aleix Vidal both joined Barca last summer, and have been training with their teammates even while being unable to play due to the FIFA-imposed transfer ban which runs until next January.
With midfielder Rafinha set for six months out after a knee operation, Barca had attempted to make use of a regulation which allows for players who will miss a long spell of the season to be replaced.
The Catalan club's case was apparently based on a position that the ban on registering new players imposed for breaking youth transfer regulations concluded at the end of the summer transfer window. AS report that FIFA have said the ban runs all the way through to the start of the next transfer window on Jan. 1, 2016.
Barca are reportedly considering going all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to be able to field former Atletico Madrid player Turan for La Liga games at least, and Mundo Deportivo claim that the club are awaiting written confirmation of FIFA's latest ruling before making their next step.
Blaugrana coach Luis Enrique has said that Turan and Vidal are ready to begin playing for the first team as soon as they are legally able to, while the former Atletico player's agent, Ahmet Bulut, has said that his client was raring to go but "not optimistic" about his chances of his debut being brought forward.
The regulation Barca are relying on to replace Rafinha with Turan is thought to be article 124.3 of the Spanish FA's code, however it is not known if any club has ever successfully used this to replace an outfield player before.
Barca's board have previously appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the initial FIFA transfer ban, with the Geneva based body ruling firmly on the side of the sport's governing body.