FIFA have rejected Chelsea’s appeal over their two window transfer ban.
The news has just broken on social media, and while the Blues will now be allowed to sign players under 16 while the ban is in place, they are still not allowed to register senior players as it stands.
That’s pretty ironic, given that the original ban was for breaking the rules regarding signing under 18 players.
The Blues were slapped with the punishment over the winter, and presented an appeal last month to try and persuade FIFA to suspend or reduce the ban. It hasn’t worked.
#cfc have effectively lost their appeal to FIFA against their transfer ban. Will surely go to CAS now
— Simon Johnson (@SJohnsonSport) May 8, 2019
Fifa have announced, following an appeal, they have upheld Chelsea's two-window transfer ban, but the club can sign players under the age of 16 during the ban. Chelsea can now go to CAS to try to get the ban frozen and overturned #cfc
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) May 8, 2019
Fifa's Appeal Committee has rejected #CFC's appeal against a two-window transfer ban (with the exception of minors). The club now have the option to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to see if the ruling can be overturned, or the ban delayed. https://t.co/M2mmg0jiSo
— Dominic Fifield (@domfifield) May 8, 2019
There is still one final appeal – the Court of Arbitration for Sport. They have the power to freeze the ban while they establish whether it’s a fair punishment. Given the summer window opens in just a couple of months, it looks likely we will have the chance to sign some players even if the ban is eventually enforced.
If we fail in CAS however, we are out of recourse, and will have to take our medicine.
