Italian Serie A club Spezia have been slammed a two-year transfer ban by FIFA after it was ruled that they signed underage Nigerian players.
The US-owned outfit will not be allowed to sign new players for four transfer windows starting from next January 2022, along with two northern amateur sides.
FIFA said Spezia brought “several Nigerian minors into Italy using a scheme aimed at circumventing RSTP (Fifa Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players) regulation as well as national immigration law”.
They must also pay a fine of 500 000 Swiss francs ($544 000, 460 000 euro), world football’s governing body said.
The same sanctions were also imposed on USD Lavagnese 1919 and Valdivara 5 Terre, “two clubs having played an active role in the aforementioned scheme,” FIFA said.
Spezia won promotion to the Italian top-flight for the first time in 2020 before finishing 15th last season.
The club said they would appeal “an extremely harsh sanction,” pointing out “the alleged irregularities occurred in the period between 2013 and 2018, therefore under the previous administration of the club.
