Chelsea’s policy of signing young players is the latest revelation to come from the investigative website Football Leaks.
Chelsea Face Two-Year Transfer ban Over Allegations Regarding Young Signings
Football Leaks have been very active recently. Stories suggesting a breakaway European League and allegations with regards to Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City’s ability to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) have been in the news.
Now it’s Chelsea’s turn to be in the spotlight over how they have gone about signing young players. According to Football Leaks, FIFA have been investigating how The Blues operate when making signings. In all, nineteen signings have been scrutinised by the world’s governing body and they have reached a decision that finds Chelsea have contravened FIFA rules with regards to fourteen of those signings. The site claims that FIFA’s integrity and compliance unit have made the decision that, as punishment, Chelsea should receive a two-year transfer ban and a fine of £45,000.
Bertrand Traore Involvement
The whole allegation revolves around the signing of ex-Chelsea attacker Bertrand Traore. The Burkina Faso international first arrived at Stamford Bridge under the age of 18. Rules stipulate a player must not be signed from overseas until they are 18-years-old unless certain criteria is met:
- The player’s family have moved to the country of the club signing them for reasons not connected to football.
- The country of clubs involved are part of the EU. Certain criteria regarding the player’s education need to be met.
It is believed Chelsea made payments to the player’s youth club to have first option on signing him. Also, they are said to have paid his school fees whilst in the UK.
Traore officially signed for Chelsea in September 2013, shortly after his 18th birthday. However, FIFA have allegedly found evidence that he appeared for the club at youth level on a number of occasions before that, a claim the club refutes, confident they have followed the correct procedure.
Chelsea would not be the first club to face a ban over youth signings. Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have all been sanctioned and received bans in recent years.
What it Could Mean to Chelsea
A two-year ban would leave Chelsea needing to strengthen as soon as possible and any sanctions would be subject to a lengthy appeal process. In the meantime, that would give The Blues an opportunity to splash the cash to cover a period of four windows without any signings.
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