January 19 – FIFA are again reported to be investigating Chelsea over possible breaches surrounding signing under-age players. And once again the club are denying any wrongdoing.
Back in September, FIFA confirmed they were probing Chelsea for the third time in eight years over recruiting minors from overseas – the first English club to face such action – with a spokesman saying: “As the investigation is on-going no further comment is possible for the time being.”
FIFA banned the London club from signing players for two transfer windows in September 2009 due to Gael Kakuta’s 2007 move from Lens, a decision which Chelsea successfully appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Now, a report in The Guardian newspaper suggested FIFA have accused Chelsea of breaking their rules when signing 25 foreign players under the age of 18.
A precedent has already been set, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid all given a two-window transfer ban for similar infringements although Real served only one after also going to CAS.
Players under-18 cannot be signed from abroad unless their parents have emigrated for non-footballing reasons or if both player and club are based within 50km of a national border. The only exception is if the player is from a European Union or European Economic Area country.
According to The Guardian, the initial investigation into Chelsea was carried out by the compliance unit of FIFA’s transfer matching system (TMS).
The Guardian reported that TMS flagged up some 25 cases in which it thought Chelsea might have transgressed and has passed its findings to FIFA’s disciplinary committee.
A Chelsea spokesman was quoted as saying: “Chelsea FC complies with all FIFA statutes and regulations when recruiting players.”
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