FIFA announced on Thursday morning that Chelsea are banned from registering any new players for the next two transfer windows following a contractual dispute involving the transfer of Gael Kakuta from French club Racing Lens in 2007 (pictured above).
The decision will ultimately mean Chelsea cannot register any new players until early 2011. The next transfer window is in January followed by another in 2010. Chelsea have recently offered new deals to high profile players such as Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole and club captain John Terry.
This ruling is a massive blow to big spending Chelsea – who do not have the youngest side in the Premier League. FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled that, following an official complaint from Lens, Kakuta had breached his contract with the French club and that Chelsea had invited him to do so. Chelsea have been ordered to pay training compensation of 130,000 euros ($185,700) to Lens and the player has been ordered to pay 780,000 euros compensation and is banned for all competitive matches for four months.
