Fulham have been found guilty
Fulham have been handed a six-month ban from signing academy players and fined £75,000 in relation to the sale of Fabio Carvalho.
Carvalho, who joined Liverpool from the west London side in 2022 and who is currently on loan at Hull City, joined the club from grassroots club Balham FC in 2014.
As part of the move, Fulham agreed to a number of terms that included Balham being entitled to compensation once Carvalho had made his first team debut – which came against Southampton in 2021.
They were then entitled to further compensation packages after Carvalho moved to Liverpool.
Such agreements are not permitted under Premier League rules as Balham are not regarded as a ‘transferor club’. Fulham had tried to get approval from the Premier League, but this was rejected upon request.
The Cottagers had alerted the English FA and the Football League and after guidance from the FA, had agreed a new compensation package between the clubs in October 2021, when Fulham were in the Championship and the agreement hadn’t been sent to the Premier League.
They also provided the league with details of an agreement with Dartford FC for winger Martial Godo, who is currently on loan at Wigan Athletic but accepted that any payment would be a breach of the rules.
Fulham’s ban from signing academy players has been suspended for a year and would be enforced if Fulham breach the rules if they breach them within the same period.
The ban applies to academy players who have been registered in the last 18 months with another Premier League or EFL club, between the age groups of under 9 to under 18. It does not prevent the club from registering players on professional deals.
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