Six clubs face bans from registering players

Following the publication in May 2018 of FIFA Circular no. 1628, which informed all FIFA member associations of a new approach with respect to the application of art. 64 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code to debtor clubs, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has taken a series of decisions in application of the new framework.

All clubs concerned were found guilty of failing to comply with previous decisions of a FIFA body or a subsequent CAS appeal decision ordering them to pay significant overdue amounts of money to players.

• The club Al Arabi Sports Club, Qatar, was sanctioned with a fine of CHF 30,000 and given a final deadline of 90 days to pay the outstanding amounts. The club will face an automatic deduction of six points and the automatic imposition of a transfer ban for two entire and consecutive registration periods if it fails to meet the final deadline.
• The club Al Kharaitiyat, Qatar, was sanctioned with a fine of CHF 25,000 and given a final deadline of 60 days to pay the outstanding amounts. The club will face an automatic deduction of six points and the automatic imposition of a transfer ban for two entire and consecutive registration periods if it fails to meet the final deadline.



• The club Zamalek Sporting Club, Egypt, was sanctioned with a fine of CHF 25,000 and given a final deadline of 60 days to pay the outstanding amounts. The club will face an automatic deduction of six points and the automatic imposition of a transfer ban for two entire and consecutive registration periods if it fails to meet the final deadline.
• The club Al Jazira SC, United Arab Emirates, was sanctioned with a fine of CHF 25,000 and given a final deadline of 60 days to pay the outstanding amounts. The club will face an automatic deduction of six points and the automatic imposition of a transfer ban for two entire and consecutive registration periods if it fails to meet the final deadline.
• The club Mersin İdman Yurdu Spor Kulübü, Turkey, was sanctioned with a fine of CHF 20,000 and given a final deadline of 60 days to pay the outstanding amounts. The club will face an automatic deduction of six points and the automatic imposition of a transfer ban for two entire and consecutive registration periods if it fails to meet the final deadline.
• The club FC Kuban, Russia, was sanctioned with a fine of CHF 15,000 and given a final deadline of 30 days to pay the outstanding amounts. The club will face an automatic deduction of six points and the automatic imposition of a transfer ban for one entire registration period if it fails to meet the final deadline.

In accordance with FIFA Circular no. 1628 and in order to ensure that all decisions passed by FIFA bodies are respected as soon as they are issued, should the relevant amounts due not be paid in full by the debtor within the final deadline, the debtor’s association will be required to automatically apply the point deduction and/or the ban from registering any new players.

Should a member association fail to automatically implement said sanctions at national level and provide the secretariat to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee with proof of the implementation of the point deduction and/or transfer ban, disciplinary proceedings – which may lead to an expulsion from all FIFA competitions – may be opened against the association concerned.

In addition to said decisions, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the Egyptian Football Association with a fine of CHF 50,000 and a warning for not respecting the mandatory rest period indicated in FIFA Circular no. 1578 as well as FIFA Circular no. 5 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. In particular, the member associations participating in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ were prohibited from playing friendly or preparation matches between 21 and 27 May 2018, in order to protect players before the final competition in Russia. Despite this, the Egyptian national team played an international friendly match against the national team of Kuwait on 25 May 2018.