Chelsea will fight Fifa transfer ban

03 September 2009 17:12
The damning punishment was delivered by Fifa, in an unexpected fax to Stamford Bridge at 10am on Thursday, who found Chelsea guilty of offering inducements to French winger Gael Kakuta so that he broke his contract with Lens in 2007. [LNB]Attention will focus on the roles played in the deal by Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon and, more sharply, chief scout Frank Arnesen who held a meeting with Lens prior to Kakuta's signing. It is alleged by the French club and upheld by Fifa although fiercely disputed by Chelsea - that Kakuta was tapped up and illegally poached while still 15. [LNB] Related ArticlesChelsea hit with transfer banGa?Kakuta: profileAshley Cole signs new contractBallack happy to see Liverpool struggleChelsea expect duo to sign onPremier League transfersLens claimed the player signed a contract with Chelsea two months before his 16th birthday in 2007 even though he was still contracted to them. Lens had demanded 5 million euros (£4.37 million) for Kakuta a fee Chelsea refused to pay insisting the player was free to leave and had no existing agreement. Given the severity of the punishment Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will demand an explanation from Arnesen, in particular. If he fails to convince Abramovich then his position could be under threat. [LNB]Even though there have been similar cases the scale of the punishment is unprecedented and will fuel claims that, following Eduardo's ban for diving, football's governing bodies are conducting an anti-English crusade. [LNB]This was hotly-denied by Fifa sources with the organisation insisting it has strong evidence to prove that Chelsea have transgressed. However the decision could lead to a raft of other cases and blow open the recruitment policies of a number of leading clubs. The outcome of Chelsea's appeal will be crucial. [LNB]Only last month another French club, Le Havre, claimed in a statement on their website, that Manchester United 'stole' 16-year-old midfielder Paul Pogba by offering 'very large' sums of money to his parents to induce him to end a contract he had until the end of the season. [LNB]This was strenuously denied by United although Le Havre have continued to threaten to report them to Fifa. [LNB]With Kakuta, now 18, the organisation's Dispute Resolutions Council which decides such cases met on Aug 27 following Lens complaint. Having reached its verdict it will now send out documentation to Chelsea in the next two weeks, detailing its evidence, with the club having a further 21 days to appeal. [LNB]Chelsea made clear in a statement that they intend to do just that by mounting the 'strongest appeal possible' and the case will now go to the Court of Arbitration in Sport, world's sport's final court of appeal. 'The sanctions are without precedent to this level and totally disproportionate to the alleged offence and the financial penalty imposed,' the club said. 'We cannot comment further until we receive written rationale for this extraordinary arbitrary decision.' [LNB]The punishment means that Chelsea cannot sign any new players, not even on loan, in the January transfer window or next summer leaving their future recruitment plans in complete disarray and meaning that coach Carlo Ancelotti has to continue without changing his squad. As things stand a move next year for Franck Ribery, for example, is impossible. Given that Chelsea are losing players such as Didier Drogba to the African Cup of Nations and, more worryingly, have an ageing squad then it has serious ramifications for their future success. [LNB]In addition to the transfer ban, Chelsea were ordered to pay Lens 130,000 euros (£113,000) 'training compensation' for Kakuta, who had been attached to the French club's academy since the age of eight while the player himself, who is on the fringes of the Chelsea first-team, has been banned from playing football for four months and ordered to pay a 780,000 euro (£682,000) fine. [LNB]In its statement Fifa 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 respectively. [LNB]'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 a breach.' [LNB]After Thursday's surprise announcement the Lens president Gervais Martel said: 'The player was under contract with us, and they (Chelsea) came and stole him away from us. Chelsea didn't follow the rules. They contacted the player when he wasn't even 16 yet, and while he had been contracted to our training group from the age of eight. It's an important message given that protecting up and coming youth players who are contracted to clubs is an issue being followed closely by Uefa president Michel Platini.' [LNB]Chelsea will now desperately want their appeal to be heard before Christmas. There is reason to hope that the punishment can be reduced. The Swiss club FC Sion was told in April that it could not sign players this summer after signing goalkeeper Essam El Hadary in 2008 before his deal with Al-Ahly had expired. The sanctions were frozen, allowing Sion to trade, with a ruling expected later this year. [LNB]Of greater encouragement will be the case of Philippe Mexes who signed for Roma in 2004 only for the club to be found guilty of a similar breach of contract. A one-year ban on transfers was imposed on Roma but this was reduced to one on appeal. If Chelsea are similarly successful it will mean they are only barred from buying in January. [LNB]However Chelsea will also be acutely aware that the football governing bodies are keen to introduce rules to further restrict the international transfer of players under the age of 18 (at present they can take advantage of labour laws to move to Britain at 16 and sign professional forms at 17 thereby minimising compensation payable). [LNB]The change was agreed in principle at a Uefa meeting in March and has also been a crusade for Fifa president Sepp Blatter. Chelsea will fear they are being made an example of even as they continue to protest their innocence. [LNB] 

Source: Telegraph