The German club "Cologne" announced its intention to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a penalty imposed by FIFA, which bans them from making transfers due to alleged violations involving the signing of a player under 19 years old.
Cologne stated in a statement that the one-year ban on transfers resulted from alleged violations in the contract with striker Yaka Koper Potošnik, who was signed from Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana in January 2022.
The club competing in the Slovenian top league accused the player of unlawfully breaching his contract and sued both the player and Cologne before FIFA. Potošnik's former club accused Cologne of inducing the player to breach his contract. FIFA's Football Court ruled that Potošnik terminated his contract with Olimpija Ljubljana without legal cause.
The statement added that Cologne will be prohibited from registering new players during the next two transfer windows and will appeal this ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. They also requested a temporary stay of the penalty pending the outcome of the appeal.
FIFA ordered both the club and the player to pay €51,750, equivalent to $56,293, as compensation to Olimpija Ljubljana, and the player was suspended for four months.
