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According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea face a potential FIFA transfer ban if found guilty of breaching the rules regarding the transfer of players under the age of 18 from foreign countries.
An initial investigation by football’s world governing body has found them guilty of 25 breaches of the rules which place restrictions on clubs when it comes to signing underage players from abroad.
The regulations state that clubs are not allowed to sign a player under the age of 18 from another country unless player and club are within 50 km of a national border, or their parents have emigrated for non-football reasons. Players aged between 16 and 18 from the EU or European Economic Area are exempt from this rule.
Whilst Chelsea have insisted that they have complied with all FIFA statutes and regulations, the consequences for them could be potentially serious. Spanish giants Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona were all found guilty of similar offences and banned from signing players for two transfer windows, although Real’s ban was later reduced to just one.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.