Now the appeals body have given Chelsea a lifeline which will allow them to sign players again in January if the final decision is not taken before then.The Court of Arbitration for Sport has granted the London Club's request to suspend their transfer ban pending a final decision regarding their case.
The London Club were initially handed a FIFA ban over the next two transfer windows after they were found guilty of inducing French teenager Gael Kakuta to breach his contract with Lens in 2007, but the Blues appealed to CAS against the punishment and, as part of their appeal, requested the transfer ban be 'stayed' until the case had been dealt with.
A statement on the CAS website read: ''The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has granted the request for a stay filed by Chelsea Football Club Ltd and Mr Gaël Kakuta in relation to the decision taken by the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber on 27 August 2009.
''The FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber imposed, inter alia, a restriction of four months' ineligibility on Mr Gaël Kakuta, and Chelsea was banned from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, for the next two complete, consecutive registration periods. Such sanctions are now stayed until the CAS renders its final decision in this matter.''
Chelsea Manager Carlo Ancelotti insists he will not be rushed into buying new players in January, despite the suspension, and the African Nations Cup which will rob him of some of his stars.
''Now, thanks to this decision we have time to look for new players,'' said Don Carlo. ''But we don't want to take a decision in this moment. At the moment, I'm very happy with the squad, these players, and it's not necessary at the moment to take new players.
''I know we will lose four in January but if we maintain the players' fitness we can do a good period also without the African players. Now our focus is on the game on Sunday. We can buy players in January, but now we have other questions to answer. It's not important now what we can do in January.''
Professor Ian Blackshaw, a CAS lawyer, believes there is little chance of reaching a final decision on the case until well into the new year, meaning Chelsea should enjoy an unimpeded transfer window in January.
''Until the appeal is finally decided by CAS the position before the appeal is reversed. That means Chelsea are free, if they wish to do so, to deal in the transfer market in January,'' he told Sky Sports News. ''Once all the paperwork is there then it is possible to hold a hearing. In this case, because it's such an important one, I imagine there will be an oral hearing rather than a decision based just on papers. In that case it will be possible for Kakuta to present his version of the facts.
''I don't think we will get an appeal much before March or even April next year. It is possible for parties to ask CAS for an expedited hearing under the rules, which would allow the appeal to be fast-tracked but I know that CAS are extremely busy, not just with football disputes, and they have a very busy schedule.
''The chances of getting an expedited hearing are slim, if not impossible, so I feel a decision will be made in the first quarter of next year at the earliest.''
