Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1089428
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 MARCH 2019 21 SPORTS FOOTBALL CHELSEA have appealed against Fifa's decision to ban them from signing players in the next two transfer windows. It follows the world governing body's investigation into Chel- sea's signing of foreign under-18 players. Fifa says it found breaches in 29 cases out of 92 investigated, in- cluding striker Bertrand Traore, now at Lyon. The governing body says it has received an appeal but could not confirm when this would be heard. Chelsea have also been fined £460,000, while the Football Association has been fined £390,000. The ban, which runs until the end of January 2020, does not prevent the release of players and will not apply to their wom- en's and futsal teams. How did this come about? Based on documents from Football Leaks, French website Mediapart claimed in Novem- ber that 19 Chelsea signings had been looked at during a three- year investigation. Mediapart alleged that 14 of those signings were under the age of 18. It was first reported in Septem- ber 2017 that Chelsea were being investigated. Burkina Faso international Traore signed his first profes- sional contract at Chelsea in 2013, at the age of 18, but was not registered until January 2014. Mediapart claimed Fifa found evidence that Chelsea had mis- led them over the dates, while Traore was found to have made 25 appearances for the Blues at various levels - under-16, un- der-18 and first team - despite not being registered by the FA. Chelsea admitted they paid his mother £155,000, as well as a further £13,000 to the club she chaired - AJE Bobo-Dioulasso - in April 2011 to allow them first refusal over his signature. That deal, it is alleged, was for four-and-a-half years, despite the limit for under-18s being three years. In addition, it is also claimed Chelsea paid for Traore to at- tend the £20,000-a-year Whitgift School in Surrey. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid both received bans for breaching rules over the signing of minors in early 2016, while fellow Spanish club Barcelona were given a 14-month ban after breaking rules for signing inter- national under-18s in 2014. However, a Barcelona appeal saw their punishment pushed back a year, allowing the club to sign Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Jeremy Mathieu, Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Bertrand Traore scored four goals in 16 first-team appearances for Chelsea in all competitions Chelsea appeal against transfer ban, Fifa confirms