Chelsea F.C. Receives One Year Transfer Ban
English Football Giant to Challenge FIFA Ruling
Sep 4, 2009
In an unprecedented move, English football giant Chelsea F.C. have been banned from adding new players to the team for the next two transfer periods by FIFA. This means no new players will be acquired until January 2011.
FIFA decided on the ruling after determining the team prodded then 16-year-old Gaël Kakuta (now 18) to break his contract with French club Lens. In an official statement, Chelsea said: "We cannot comment further until we receive the full written rationale for this extraordinarily arbitrary decision." However, fans can be assured that the ruling will be challenged by the club in front of the Swiss Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Kakuta Key for Chelsea
Kakuta has been with the team for two years, but he has had little to show for it after a string of injuries, including hamstring problems and a double fracture of the ankle. It was in this new season, when finally fit to play, that the winger was supposed to make his mark. Instead, Kakuta has been banned by FIFA from play for four months. In compensation fees, he will have to pay Lens 780,000 euros (roughly $1,110,000).
This punishment is seen as a catastrophe for one of the top teams in the most competitive and prestigious football league in the world. It is questionable as to whether Chelsea will be able to stay near the top of the standings without acquiring any new players for the next year and a half.
The ruling really comes at the worst time for Chelsea, notes writer for BBC Sport Phil McNulty. In January, during the transfer window Chelsea will not be allowed to take part in, the club will lose four of their essential players - Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou, Jon Mikel Obi and Didier Drogba - during African Cup of Nations play. After that, the focus will be on the 2010 World Cup, a tournament that receives priority over all league play in the world.
FIFA and EPL Power Struggle
But what the ruling really shows is the deepening power struggle between governing body FIFA and the powerful and rich football clubs that do not like to answer to FIFA.
In remarks to BBC News, sports business lawyer Dan Harrington said: "This is an example of FIFA showing just how important it views the regulations.” He added that “the ramifications at the club are potentially huge.”
This also creates a slippery slope. If the ruling stands, it would seem unlikely that other major clubs will not be sentenced as well. The poaching practice is common in European football circles and there are certainly football bosses watching the outcome of this ruling to see what it will mean for their own clubs.
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