Fifa Ban Chelsea For Signing New Players Next Two Windows & How It May Affect Five Nigerians

Published: February 22, 2019

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the English Football Association and Chelsea for breaching provisions concerning the international transfers of non-English players under the age of eighteen.

Chelsea, with the exception of the Futsal and Women's teams, will not able to sign new players for the next two transfer windows (June 2019 and January 2020) and have been fined CHF 600,000 and given a period of 90 days to regularise the situation of the minor players concerned.

The Blues breached art. 19 of the Regulations in the case of twenty-nine (29) minor players and have committed several other infringements relating to registration requirements for players, according to Fifa.

If Chelsea don't contest the transfer ban, it leaves them in a tight corner as they won't be able to bring in new players to bolster the squad, with players such as Mauro Icardi, Gonzalo Higuaín, Ivan Rakitic, Philippe Coutinho and Elseid Hysaj linked with a permanent switch to Stamford Bridge.

In their bid to have a competitive squad next season, Chelsea could decide to recall their loan players, including Nigerian stars Victor Moses, Ola Aina, Kenneth Omeruo, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham.

Moses's initial agreement with Fenerbahce was due to run out in June 2020 while Aina and Omeruo had purchase clauses in the deals taking the defenders to Torino and CD Leganes.

It is likely that Tomori and Abraham would not be allowed to depart Chelsea on a permanent transfer in the summer due to the transfer ban.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : chelseafc.com