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Chelsea have been handed a two transfer window ban from registering new players by FIFA.

The Blues have been found guilty by FIFA of breaching rules in the signing of 29 players under the age of 18.

The punishment means Chelsea will not be able to sign any new players this summer and next January.

The Blues have also been handed a £640,000 fine and 90 days to "regularise the situation", while the FA have been ordered to pay £391,000 and told to address the situation within the next six months.

The three-year investigation by FIFA was sparked after the signing of Bertrand Traore in 2014.

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Previously, clubs have been hit by transfer window bans and appealed to have the punishment suspended for a window which is a big possibility this time, meaning Chelsea could miss the whole of 2020.

It is devastating blow for Chelsea who had been fearing a ban and therefore were expected to buy big in January which makes their lack of activity even more strange.

But they did sign Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund for £65million with the agreement to loan him back until the summer which perhaps suggests they knew it was coming.

It means they now face a desperate battle to keep Eden Hazard as they will struggle to get the players to bolster the squad to make them challengers for major honours.

FIFA said in a statement: "The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the English club Chelsea FC and The Football Association for breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18.

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"Chelsea was found to have breached art. 19 of the Regulations in the case of twenty-nine (29) minor players and to have committed several other infringements relating to registration requirements for players. The club also breached art. 18bis of the Regulations in connection with two agreements it concluded concerning minors and which allowed it to influence other clubs in transfer-related matters.

"The Disciplinary Committee sanctioned Chelsea with a ban on registering new players at both national and international level for the next two (2) complete and consecutive registration periods. This ban applies to the club as a whole - with the exception of the women’s and futsal teams - and does not prevent the release of players.

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"Additionally, the club was fined CHF 600,000 and given a period of 90 days to regularise the situation of the minor players concerned.

"The Football Association was also found to have breached the rules in connection with minors. It was fined CHF 510,000 and given a period of six months to address the situation concerning the international transfer and first registration of minors in football.

"The protection of minors is a key element in FIFA’s overall regulatory framework relating to the transfer of players and effective enforcement of these rules is paramount, as also confirmed on various occasions by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

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"The decisions issued by the Disciplinary Committee were notified today and can be contested before the FIFA Appeal Committee."

Chelsea have quickly moved to announced they are planning to appeal the charge.

"Chelsea FC has today received a decision from the FIFA Disciplinary Committee concerning alleged breaches of the FIFA Regulations that relate to the international transfer of players under the age of 18. The decision imposes a transfer ban of two consecutive registration periods and a fine of 600k Swiss francs. Chelsea FC categorically refutes the findings of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee and will therefore be appealing the decision.

"The club wishes to emphasise that it respects the important work undertaken by FIFA in relation to the protection of minors and has fully cooperated with FIFA throughout its investigation. Initially, Chelsea FC was charged under Articles 19.1 and 19.3 in relation to 92 players.

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"We welcome the fact that FIFA has accepted that there was no breach in relation to 63 of these players, but the club is extremely disappointed that FIFA has not accepted the club’s submissions in relation to the remaining 29 players. Chelsea FC acted in accordance with the relevant regulations and will shortly be submitting its appeal to FIFA."

The FA responded by writing in their own statement: "The FA notes the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee published today. The FA has cooperated fully with FIFA’s investigations, although we have raised some concerns with FIFA regarding its disciplinary processes.

"The FA intends to appeal the decision. We will however continue to work with FIFA and Chelsea in a constructive manner to address the issues which are raised by this case.

"As this is an ongoing legal process it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."