Fifa Slaps Lengthy Transfer Ban On Chelsea

World football governing body FIFA has banned Chelsea from signing any new players until January 2011 after the Premier League club was found guilty of illegally inducing a player to break his contract with his existing club.

Chelsea have reacted angrily to FIFA’s decision over the club’s handling of the signing of French teenager Gael Kakuta from Lens in 2007.

Chelsea insist they will ‘mount the strongest appeal possible’ and say the sanctions are ‘totally disproportionate to the alleged offence’.

A statement from the Premier League club, who will make their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), added: ‘We cannot comment further until we receive the full written rationale for this extraordinarily arbitrary decision.’

FIFA’s dispute resolution chamber (DRC) ruled French winger Kakuta, now 18, must also pay compensation of 780,000 euros (£682,000), for which Chelsea are ‘jointly and severally liable’.

Lens lodged a complaint with FIFA after Chelsea signed Kakuta two years ago.

FIFA’s statement said: ‘The French club had lodged a claim with FIFA seeking compensation for breach of contract from the player and requesting also sporting sanctions to be imposed on the player and the English club for breach of contract and inducement to breach of contract.

‘The DRC found that the player had indeed breached a contract signed with the French club. Equally, the DRC deemed it to be established that the English club induced the player to such breach.’

Chelsea must pay additional ‘training compensation’ of 130,000 euros (£114,000) to Lens, while the player has been banned from playing in official matches for four months.

FIFA’s decision to ban Chelsea means they will not be able to sign players in the January and summer 2010 transfer windows.