Soccer-FIFA deny Chelsea request to freeze one-year transfer ban

Chelsea have been denied a request to freeze their one-year transfer ban as they appeal the punishment handed out by FIFA, the world soccer governing body said on Friday. FIFA confirmed on Tuesday that the Premier League club had appealed against the ban, which it imposed after judging that Chelsea had breached rules on overseas players under the age of 18.

"We can confirm that the chairman of the FIFA Appeal Committee has rejected the application for provisional measures filed by Chelsea FC in relation to the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee," a FIFA spokesperson said. Chelsea may still take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as other clubs have done in the past.

The ban forbids the club, which has denied any wrongdoing, from registering new players in the close season and in the January transfer window in 2020. (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)