Chelsea have appealed against Fifa’s decision to ban them from signing players in the next two transfer windows.It follows the world governing body’s investigation into Chelsea’s signing of foreign under-18 players.
Fifa says it found breaches in 29 cases out of 92 investigated, including striker Bertrand Traore, now at Lyon. The governing body says it has received an appeal but could not confirm when this would be heard.
Chelsea have also been fined £460,000, while the Football Association has been fined £390,000. The ban, which runs until the end of January 2020, does not prevent the release of players and will not apply to their women’s and futsal teams.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid both received bans for breaching rules over the signing of minors in early 2016, while fellow Spanish club Barcelona were given a 14-month ban after breaking rules for signing international under-18s in 2014.
However, a Barcelona appeal saw their punishment pushed back a year, allowing the club to sign Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Jeremy Mathieu, Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen