Chelsea were recently slapped with a two-window transfer ban for signing underaged foreign players and this came as a huge blow for the London club.
The Blues manager Maurizio Sarri had made plans for a major overhaul during the summer but now it will be impossible for him to bring in new players.
Chelsea had chosen to appeal against the transfer ban but now the bad news is that FIFA have chosen to uphold the ban.
This means that the London club will not be able to sign any new players for the next two transfer windows – during the summer and then again in January.
“Chelsea FC has today received the decision of the FIFA Appeal Committee,” the statement read.
“The club notes that the FIFA Appeal Committee has decided to partially uphold the appeal lodged by Chelsea FC against the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
“However, the club is very disappointed that the transfer ban of two consecutive registration periods was not overturned.
“Chelsea FC categorically refutes the findings of the FIFA Appeal Committee. It acted in accordance with the relevant regulations and will appeal the decision to CAS.”
Sarri though is not too disheartened with the Chelsea transfer ban saying: “I like to work with young players. So for me, it is not a problem.
“Every month I get a report about the players on loan. We have 45 or 46 players on loan. Of course, we need to consider who is ready, but at the moment I want to be focused on the semi-final.
“There are two or three loan players who are very interesting, of course. But we need to consider their level.”
While the Chelsea transfer ban is for the next two windows but there are a few relaxations.
The first relaxation is that Chelsea will be allowed to sign under-16 players from the UK and players can also leave the club during the transfer embargo.
Also, the Chelsea transfer ban does not apply to the women’s and futsal teams.
