Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
Manchester City have been fined £315,000 (CHF 370,000), but have avoided a transfer bam after they admitted that they breached the FIFA rules on signing new players.
The club was found to have broken Article 19 of the FIFA regulations regarding the signing of international players under 18, the same breach that saw Chelsea handed a two window transfer ban.
Aggrieved Chelsea fans may be wondering why City got off so lightly compared to their club for committing, what appears to be the same offence, and may feel that there is a witch hunt against them. The difference though, according to FIFA, is that City accepted that they were in the wrong and cooperated with the investigation, whilst Chelsea, by contrast, have contested the charge through, and continue to appeal the decision.
The Stamford Bridge outfit hope that the ban will be lifted so that they can sign new players in January.
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.