London - Chelsea were on Tuesday night forced to defend themselves against accusations that they breached Fifa rules by signing an under-aged world talent.
African midfielder Bertrand Traore, 20, played for the club when he was 16 before he had international clearance, it is claimed.
That fact has only recently come to Fifa’s attention after pictures emerged of Traore, from Burkina Faso, playing in an Under 18s match against Arsenal in October 2011. He has since broken into the first team.
If Chelsea are found guilty by Fifa, they face a worldwide transfer ban similar to those recently handed out to Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Chelsea named Traore, who was previously on the books of French club Auxerre, on their official team sheet for the Arsenal game four years ago. The Arsenal website’s report of the match refers to the youngster by name hitting the crossbar from 30 yards. Chelsea believed they had permission from the Premier League and the FA to field Traore.
The champions are now under investigation by Fifa’s disciplinary chamber.
Following questions by the Press Association, Chelsea said on Tuesday night: ‘Bertrand Traore was registered by Chelsea in January 2014 in compliance with FA and Premier League rules. Prior to that date, he was party to an option agreement which enabled the club to acquire his registration in January 2014. The option agreement was registered with, and approved by, the FA and the Premier League.’
International regulations prevent the transfer of any player under the age of 18 unless strict criteria are met. Players can only move to another country if their parents move for ‘non-footballing reasons’, if they are from another EU nation or if they live within 100 kilometres of the club.Traore, who made his first-team debut in the 4-0 Champions League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in September and came on as a late substitute in the 1-0 home defeat by Bournemouth last month, does not satisfy any of the qualifying parameters.
This is the second time Chelsea have been investigated by Fifa over acquiring a youth player. They were banned from signing players for two transfer windows in September 2009 after Gael Kakuta’s 2007 move from Lens, but successfully appealed against the ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Fifa are determined to clamp down on Europe’s most powerful clubs abusing the transfer system to sign talented youngsters.
Although the Premier League have confirmed that Chelsea followed the correct procedure when they signed Traore on January 1, 2014, Fifa are investigating further.
Traore attended the prestigious Whitgift School in Croydon before joining Chelsea, but it is unclear whether the club paid his fees. Fifa will look closely at the arrangement because that is another potential breach of their regulations.
Traore impressed Jose Mourinho during Chelsea’s tour of Asia in 2013.
The Portuguese said: ‘We want to keep him. We have to wait until he becomes 18 to try to get a permit for him to stay in England. It’s the rules and we have to accept them.
‘He plays for his national team. Sooner or later the committee has to give him a permit to play in England.’
Daily Mail