CHELSEA TRANSFER BAN: Blues to appeal Fifa transfer ban and could now be allowed to sign players in massive summer spending spree
Fifa dished out the punishment today for illegal recruitment of young players
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CHELSEA are set to fight Fifa's transfer ban in the hope they can still sign players this summer.
The Blues were with a two-window embargo for illegally signing young players as the crisis club's week goes from bad to worse.
But now the struggling Premier League club have released a statement to confirmthey are launching an appeal.
It read: "Chelsea FC has today received a decision from the Fifa Disciplinary Committee concerning alleged breaches of the Fifa Regulations that relate to the international transfer of players under the age of 18.
"The decision imposes a transfer ban of two consecutive registration periods and a fine of 600k Swiss francs. Chelsea FC categorically refutes the findings of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee and will therefore be appealing the decision.
"The club wishes to emphasise that it respects the important work undertaken by Fifa in relation to the protection of minors and has fully cooperated with Fifa throughout its investigation.
"Initially, Chelsea FC was charged under Articles 19.1 and 19.3 in relation to 92 players.
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"We welcome the fact that Fifa has accepted that there was no breach in relation to 63 of these players, but the club is extremely disappointed that Fifa has not accepted the club’s submissions in relation to the remaining 29 players.
"Chelsea FC acted in accordance with the relevant regulations and will shortly be submitting its appeal to Fifa."
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As it stands Chelsea cannot sign any more players until the summer of 2020, scrapping any prospect of a transfer overhaul at the end of this season.
However, the appeal is likely to be able to put the sanction off until after this summer, allowing them to make a wholesale transfer splurge.
They would then be prevented from signing any more players until January 2021 - but the news is still a massive blow to the club.
Chelsea were also fined £460,000 and given 90 days “to regularise the situation of the minor players concerned”.
Fifa had looked at more than 100 deals in their probe.
The Stamford Bridge club argued the vast majority of the player cases involved short-term trialists at the Cobham academy who did not sign for the club.
But one of the key planks of Fifa’s case was the signing of Burkino Faso attacking midfielder Bertrand Traore, who officially joined the club in January 2014 but played in a number of youth team games when he was 16.
It was claimed that Chelsea paid £154,000 to the player’s mother and a further £13,000 to his former club in Burkina Faso.
Fifa are understood to believe the club paid his fees at Whitgift School in Croydon, where former Blues defender Colin Pates is head of football.
But Chelsea are not the only ones in the dog-house.
Fifa rules prevent players under 18 being transferred across national borders unless their parents have emigrated for non-footballing reasons, although the minimum age is 16 for players moving within the EU.
World football bosses are understood to be investigating the youth recruitment policies of at least four other Premier League clubs, with Zurich chiefs accusing the FA of lax administration and enforcement of the regulations.
The FA was also fined £391,000 after Fifa ruled the governing body had “breached the rules in connection with minors”.
And Wembley chiefs were ordered “to address the situation concerning the international transfer and first registration of minors in football” over the next six months.
The FA responded to the news with this statement: “The FA notes the decision of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee published today. The FA has cooperated fully with Fifa’s investigations, although we have raised some concerns with Fifa regarding its disciplinary processes.
“The FA intends to appeal the decision. We will however continue to work with Fifa and Chelsea in a constructive manner to address the issues which are raised by this case.
“As this is an ongoing legal process it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”