Chelsea Football Club have lost their second appeal against their two-window transfer ban and will take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Following the release of the video that saw Eden Hazard shake his head around his Chelsea future, the London club have never been more desperate for a transfer window to open to reimburse for the players they lose.
Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea were initially punished by the world governing body in February for breaking the rules over the acquisition of 29 foreign minors.
A statement released by FIFA today said: “The FIFA appeals committee has decided to partially uphold the appeal lodged by Chelsea FC against the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to sanction the club with a ban on registering new players at both national and international level for the next two complete and consecutive registration periods”.
“This ban is applied to the club as a whole – with the exception of the women’s and futsal teams – and did not prevent the release of players.”
FIFA have stated that the club will still be able to sign players under the age of 16, as long as they do so according to the rules.