French side Nantes handed 16-month transfer ban
French side Nantes has received a 16 –month transfer ban after the controversy which followed the transfer of Ismael Bangoura.
The French club will not be able to sign any new player until the summer window of 2015 after losing an appeal against the transfer ban issued by FIFA.
According to the Daily Mail and other leading media sources, the club was issued this ban following the dispute surrounding the transfer of Guinea forward Ismael Bangoura from Al Nasr in January 2012.
FIFA ruled in favour of the United Arab Emirates club on the grounds that the 29-year-old forward breached his contract and signed for the French club. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court upheld FIFA’s decision on Friday.
The court decided that Bangoura, who has also been the part of teams like Dynamo Kiev and Rennes, was still under contract with Al Nasr when h signed for Nantes.
Nantes is currently placed 15th in the Ligue 1 points table, and they will have to pay €4.5m (£3.73m) to Al Nasr as compensation.
The club can still sell and release their players, but are barred from registering any new signings with the French Football Federation.