2009 English football tapping up controversy

Allegations of tapping up in English football came to light in 2009 after accusations were made by French and English football clubs that a number of Premier League clubs had been enticing their youth players to join them.

The controversy started when RC Lens midfielder Gaël Kakuta breached his contract in order to join Chelsea. A number of other French clubs and an Italian club soon reported to FIFA that other Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Manchester City, had been tempting their youngsters away.

The issue was first introduced into the public eye in September 2009 when, after being reported by RC Lens, FIFA banned Chelsea from any transfer activity until January 2011 and also ordered €130,000 to Lens as compensation. The player in question, French midfielder Gaël Kakuta, was also ordered to pay €780,000 to Lens. Chelsea soon appealed to FIFA's actions in "the strongest possible way" under the grounds that it was Kakuta's mother who had signed the pre-contract, not her son; UEFA had assured Chelsea that they could sign the Frenchman as he wasn't a registered player at Lens and also because the London club believed there may was a statute of limitations on such 'illegal transfers'. Club CEO Peter Kenyon also commented that people need to "understand this is something that happened two years ago".

On 4 February 2010, Chelsea were cleared of any wrongdoing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. That decision was recognized by FIFA, and Lens's complaint was withdrawn, resulting in the ban being overturned. The CAS's decision read "The CAS has noted that, in the agreement, the two clubs and the player have recognised that the contract between the player and RC Lens was not valid. Accordingly, the player could not have terminated it prematurely and without just cause and FC Chelsea cannot therefore be liable for inducing a breach of contract. As a consequence, in light of these new circumstances, the sanctions imposed upon Chelsea FC and the player by the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber had to be lifted."

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