FIFA have rejected Chelsea’s appeal against a 1-year transfer ban meaning the London club will not be able to sign any players in the next two transfer windows.
The sanction came after an investigation into Chelsea’s signing of underage foreign players which found breaches in 29 cases out of the 92 inspected. FIFA prohibits international transfers of minors unless their families moved to a country for non-football reasons, or are close to the border of another nation where the young athlete plays.
The enquiry resulted in a £460,000 fine and a ban from signing players until the end of January 2020, with the exception of the women’s and futsal team. Chelsea’s appeal to freeze the ban has been upheld by the FIFA appeal committee, with the ban coming into effect May 16.
Chelsea are expected to take the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which could allow them to apply for a ‘stay’ of punishment whilst awaiting the decision and would consequently let Chelsea register players signed during the offseason transfer window.
