The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has prohibited Chelsea from signing any players for 2 transfer windows for breaching the rules for Minors International Clearance Process. In addition, Chelsea will also be fined €460,300 by FIFA as a result of breaking rules regarding the transfer of 29 players under the age of 18 to one of their teams. As a result, they have granted Chelsea 90 days to stabilize the conditions of the concerned minors in their team. The FA that overlooks all transfers were also fined nearly €449,473 for violations against rules concerning foreign minors in a team and were given 6 months to deal with the circumstances.
Chelsea has been found to breach rules in Article 19, containing the rules for the transfer of the 29 under-18 players and Article 18 in addition to rules concerning the transfer of players in the EU, which is part of the exceptions of the Minors International Clearance Process rules through an investigation held over the past three years. As a result, such a punishment was anticipated for the English club. Although this punishment does not apply to Chelsea’s women’s team and futsal and does not prohibit the release of players, it may still spell trouble for the men’s team struggling under Maurizio Sarri in the Premier League.
However, if the English club were to appeal against the seemingly heavy punishment, which they plan to do, it would delay the transfer ban by a year. This would be beneficial due to Chelsea’s rather lacking and inadequate performance which has recently landed them in sixth place in the Premier League standings, a relatively low ranking for a club of that caliber and has got them knocked out of the FA Cup. A transfer ban such as this would limit their options to bounce back and do well next season. Nevertheless, if they prepare for the upcoming season in the summer, utilizing their ability to sign the players, Chelsea may be able to do better in the Premier League as well as the Champions League. Some clubs such as Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have used similar approaches to combat punishments that they were given for similar reasons.
Comments