A Spanish judge has ordered the French daily Le Monde to pay a fine of 300,000 euros ($440,000) to FC Barcelona after it reported that the soccer team was linked to the Operación Puerto doping scandal.

The ruling stems from stories published December 7 and 8, 2006, when the paper reported that several of the top soccer team’s stars were working with controversial Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, the ringleader of the alleged blood doping ring.

The paper couldn’t back up the claims and was subsequently sued by the club, one of the most powerful in European soccer.