#transferban

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Fifa allegedly recommends Blues handed two-year transfer ban after signing of minors including former striker Bertrand Traore who is now at Lyon.

Based on documents from Football Leaks, French website Mediapart claims 19 Chelsea signings have been looked at in a three-year-long investigation. Mediapart alleges that 14 of those signings were under the age of 18.

In a statement, Chelsea said it had “fully co-operated with Fifa”.  The club also said it had “provided comprehensive evidence demonstrating its compliance with the applicable Fifa regulations”.

According to Mediapart, Fifa’s integrity and compliance unit has recommended Chelsea be handed a transfer ban covering four transfer windows, as well as a fine of £45,000. It was first reported in September that Chelsea was being investigated. “The proceedings are ongoing and, to date, no decision has been passed by the Fifa judicial bodies,” football’s world governing body Fifa said in a statement.

Burkino Faso international Traore – who now plays for Ligue 1 club Lyon – signed his first professional contract at Chelsea in 2013 at the age of 18 but was not registered until January 2014. Mediapart claims Fifa found evidence that Chelsea had misled them over the dates, while Traore was found to have made 25 appearances for the Blues (under-16, under-18 and first team) despite not being registered by the Football Association. Chelsea has also admitted they paid his mother £155,000, as well as a further £13,000 to the club she chaired – AJE Bobo-Dioulasso – in April 2011 to allow them first refusal over his signature. That deal, it is alleged, was for four-and-a-half years, despite the limit for under-18s being only three years. In addition, it is also claimed Chelsea paid for Traore to attend the £20,000-a-year Whitgift School in Surrey.

Should they be handed a transfer ban, Chelsea will be the latest club to receive such punishment after similar incidences in La Liga. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have both previously received bans for breaching rules over the signing of minors in early 2016, while Barcelona was given a 14-month ban after breaking rules for signing international under-18s in 2014.

What are the Fifa rules?

Fifa bans the transfer of under-18s to different countries unless they meet strict criteria. It brought in the rules to help protect children from exploitation and trafficking.

Under-18s can only be transferred abroad if:

The player’s parents move to the country in which the new club is located for non-footballing reasons.

Both clubs are in the European Union or European Economic Area and the player is aged between 16 and 18. Even then, the buying club must meet more criteria relating to education, training, living conditions and support.

They live within 100km of the club

What would be the implications if Chelsea were handed a two-year transfer ban?

Firstly, Chelsea would be banned from buying anyone in the transfer market for 4 transfer windows!

The ban would really hinder Chelsea’s chances of winning the title in future years under Maurizio Sarri, as he will need transfer windows to strengthen his current Chelsea squad, so this transfer ban would have really negative implications for Sarri’s long-term ambitions to turn his Chelsea side into a title-winning side.

The ban could also hinder their chances of making top 4 in future seasons, as their rivals would be free to strengthen and add to their squads, however, the blues wouldn’t be allowed to, therefore really disadvantaging them in comparison to their top 4/6 rivals in future seasons.

My Judgement

If Chelsea has definitely broken the Fifa rules even though they claim they have obliged to the rulings, then they should be banned. However, if they are banned, then Manchester City and PSG need to have a transfer ban as well due to the leaks recently that Fifa president Infantino helped Manchester City and PSG dodge FFP. – (For more information on this, check Luis Gutierrez’s article). So they should also be punished if Fifa decides to punish Chelsea, otherwise, it would be argued that that would be unfair on Chelsea…