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Report: Chelsea among 5 Premier League clubs facing 2-year transfer ban

GLYN KIRK / AFP / Getty

A quintet of Premier League clubs including Chelsea could be sanctioned with a transfer ban as a result of a FIFA investigation into the signing of foreign players under the age of 18.

The Blues and at least four other English top-flight sides along with a host of big-name clubs from continental Europe face a potential two-year suspension from signing players, enforced by FIFA's Integrity and Compliance committee, The Telegraph's Matt Law reports.

A source told the paper: "This a massive investigation that will implicate a number of clubs. It will touch most of the big clubs around Europe and in the Premier League."

The suggestion of a two-year ban comes from French investigative website Mediapart, one of the publishers of documents uncovered by Football Leaks.

The investigation into Chelsea spotlights the signing of former Auxerre talent and current Lyon forward Bertrand Traore, who linked up with the Blues as a youngster but did not officially sign with the club until he had turned 18 in 2013. Mediapart claims FIFA's Integrity and Compliance unit has recommended the Blues be banned from signing players for one transfer window for the Traore signing and a further three windows for 13 other offenses, in addition to a fine of £384,000.

According to Law, Chelsea issued a statement in response which declared: "The club has fully cooperated with FIFA and has provided comprehensive evidence demonstrating its compliance with the applicable FIFA regulations."

Mediapart claims Chelsea struck a £155,000 agreement with Traore's mother in April 2011, when the player would have been just 15, with a further £13,000 due to his then-youth club AJE Bobo-Dioulasso. Traore's mother was then serving as the chair of that club. Chelsea also allegedly paid Traore's £20,000-a-year tuition at Whitgift School in Surrey. Traore made 16 first-team appearances for Chelsea before being sold to Lyon for £8.8 million in June 2017 after loan spells at Vitesse Arnhem and Ajax.

Manchester City, Liverpool, and Everton have already been punished by the Premier League for breaches of rules regarding the signing of domestic academy players. Everton were banned from signing academy players and fined £500,000, while City and Liverpool were given both fines and suspensions.

La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have both previously been given transfer bans for breaching similar rules.

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