FIFA has just released a new database of clubs banned from registering new players, which has sparked a lot of interest and discussion among football fans around the world. This list includes top African teams, six clubs in Saudi Arabia and five clubs from the Argentine championship.
Among the sanctioned clubs are San Lorenzo (Argentina), Wydad (Morocco) and TP Mazembe (Democratic Republic of Congo), all of whom have won continental championships and participated in the FIFA Club World Cup since 2010.
FIFA can impose bans usually for two or three transfer periods after clubs have broken transfer rules or have unpaid transfer debts to other clubs. In some cases, bans can be lifted by settling the debt, as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club Al Nassr did last year in a deal with Leicester.
Clubs banned from registering players – often called “transfer bans” – can sign new players, but cannot field them in matches because they cannot register them with the national federation.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have all been hit with a registration ban by FIFA over the past decade in cases involving the signing of youth players on international contracts. Bans are generally suspended until appeals are completed.
In similar cases in 2019, Chelsea were subject to a ban during a negotiating window before winning their appeal. Manchester City avoided a ban by paying a fine of 370,000 Swiss francs ($432,000) to FIFA in 2019.
The current list includes three of the eight clubs that participated in the first edition of the African Football League this season: Wydad (Morocco), Espérance (Tunisia) and TP Mazembe (Democratic Republic of Congo). Another influential African team, Zamalek of Egypt, is also on the list, but details of their case are not released.
“The main objective of this tool is to provide stakeholders, including players and clubs, as well as the general public, with an overview of all clubs currently blocked from registering new players,” FIFA said in a statement.
Saudi Pro League clubs Al Raed and Al Wehda were recently banned from registering for three commercial transfer windows, and four second division clubs are also on the FIFA list: Al Faisaly, Al Qaisumah, Jeddah and Ohod.
In Argentina, the clubs that cannot register new players are Banfield, Central Cordoba, Independiente, San Lorenzo and Union.
The FIFA database released Thursday includes 78 lists of cases involving Chinese clubs and numerous cases in Ukraine where clubs lost revenue from ticket sales, television broadcasts and sponsorship deals during the military invasion of Russia.
You can find the full list of clubs banned from transfers here.
This topic raises important questions about transfer regulations and disciplinary measures taken by FIFA. It is essential that clubs follow the rules set out by world football’s governing body to ensure the integrity of the sport and justice in the area of player transfers.
It will be interesting to follow the evolution of these transfer bans and to see how the clubs concerned will react to regularize their situation. Compliance with transfer rules is essential to ensuring fairness and competitive balance in football, and it is important that FIFA continues to enforce these rules to maintain the integrity of the game.