Following the drastic transfer penalty against 1. FC Köln, managing director Christian Keller has expressed his complete lack of understanding of the ruling by football’s world governing body.

“From our point of view, FIFA has made a completely absurd ruling without any basis,” Keller said at the Geißbockheim on Thursday.

On Wednesday, FIFA had informed the club of its ruling, according to which FC would not be allowed to sign any players in the next two transfer periods. The reason was the transfer of the then 16-year-old Slovenian Jaka Cuber Potocnik, who had unilaterally terminated his contract with Olimpija Ljubljana in January 2022 and came to Cologne on a free transfer. The Slovenians accused FC of inciting a breach of contract and filed a complaint with FIFA.

Cologne will now appeal to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and seek a suspension of the penalty until a final decision is reached. This is “the most important goal” for the time being, says Keller. Then the club would probably be able to make transfers next summer after all. The proceedings at CAS will probably take “four to six months”, said Keller: “Fortunately, a trial is taking place there”.

The managing director does not see such a procedure at FIFA. The verdict was “not only a farce in terms of content, but also in terms of procedure.” In the Cologne statement on the accusations, “a lot of witnesses were named, among them the former president of Ljubljana. And then there was no oral hearing. Then three judges retreated into their closet and reached a verdict that couldn’t be more draconian.”

Another problem for the Bundesliga club is that, as the accused, it has to prove its innocence. FIFA law provides for “a reversed burden of proof”: “The verdict does not say that 1. FC Köln incited the player to breach his contract. The ruling says that we cannot prove the opposite. There would be no such thing in Germany. “