Chelsea banned from signing players until June 2020 after breaking transfer rules

Chelsea's week has got even worse, as Fifa has banned the club from signing any more players for the next two transfer windows.

This means Chelsea can't sign any players until the summer window of 2020. This comes at an incredibly tense time for the club. Chelsea was dumped out of the FA Cup by Manchester United last weekend, and although they have qualified for the Europa League Round of 16, they face another vital game this Sunday as they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley. 

Fifa has judged Chelsea to have broken transfer rules regarding the signings of minors, having breached Article 19 in 29 cases, which references the signings of players under the age of 18.

The governing body said in a statement: "This ban applies to the club as a whole - with the exception of the women's and futsal teams - and does not prevent the release of players."

One of the main transfers concerning Fifa was that of Bertrand Traore, who has now left Chelsea and is at Lyon, from French club Auxerre in 2013.

Former Chelsea forward Bertrand Traore // Image Credit: Arturo Pardavila III via Wikipedia Commons

Chelsea has denied any wrongdoings and will be given 90 days to sort its problematic situation out. 

In a statement, Chelsea said: "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.

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"Initially, Chelsea FC was charged under Articles 19.1 and 19.3 in relation to 92 players. 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."

Sky Sports News this morning said that Chelsea had also been breach of article 18bis in regards to breaching third-party influence with their transfers. 

The Football Association has also been fined £390,000 whilst the Premier League faces a hefty fine of over £460,000. The FA has said it will appeal as it has 'concerns' over Fifa's disciplinary process.

[1/3] 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. pic.twitter.com/ahYi4dUVOX

— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) February 22, 2019

 

Chelsea previously received a transfer ban for the signing of Gael Kakuta in 2009, although the ban was reduced on appeal. If Chelsea do appeal, then the ban will be paused until the completion of the appeal which means Chelsea would be able to continue to sign players.

With boss Maurizio Sarri seemingly struggling, Chelsea could do with yet another squad rebuild - that, however, will have to wait.

Chelsea has been drawn against Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev in the Round of 16 Europa League Draw but will need to turn all of its focus towards Sunday's cup final after what has been a chaotic week.

 

 Lead Image Credit: Pxhere