1. FC Köln is without points, without a coach and without transfers in the next two transfer periods. A commentary on the unique Bundesliga fiasco.

When we look back in a few years, December 21 may go down in history as the day that set 1. FC Köln back by several years.

First, the sacking of coach Steffen Baumgart after a dismal first half of the season, with ten goals and ten points from 16 games. Where months ago people thought Baumgart would shape an era in Cologne like Jürgen Klopp once did at BVB, they now face a new reality.

Instead of the Conference League, the focus is on survival in the Bundesliga. That with a squad that has not been able to prove that it has even the slightest quality needed to avoid relegation.

Therefore, new players should be brought in during the winter, but that was the second piece of bad news for the club on this spooky Thursday. Cologne is not allowed to sign any players, not now, not in the summer.

The International Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld the transfer ban over two transfer periods. The International Court of Arbitration for Sport has followed the FIFA Association Court of Arbitration and has confirmed its ruling in connection with the January 2022 signing of U19 player Jaka Cuber Potocnik, previously of Olimpija Ljubljana.

In its ruling of February 1, 2023, FIFA had affirmed that the player had breached his contract and also assumed that 1. FC Köln had been unable to provide sufficient evidence that it had not incited the player to breach his contract.

This means that even if Cologne is relegated and many players leave, the club is not allowed to sign anyone. Exceptions: players currently on loan, such as keeper Jonas Urbig, are allowed to play for Cologne. Loan players like Rasmus Carstensen are allowed to be signed permanently. And players whose contracts are expiring, such as Dominique Heintz, are allowed to continue to be employed.

Nevertheless, it is a dire situation for the traditional club, because now it is even more of a setback that sports director Christian Keller failed to close important gaps in the summer. There are huge gaps in the defensive midfield and in attack, which should be closed in the winter. Now the horror scenario.

In a recent FC report, Keller says: “We have always said that we have always considered the transfer ban scenario and will plan our squad accordingly until the end of the ban that has now been set.” Which, of course, does not correspond to reality, because important positions have not been filled. The players Keller brought in have mostly turned out to be flops so far.

Therefore, Keller will now also be the focus of criticism, because he is largely responsible for the current fiasco. Statements like this certainly do not help the situation with the Cologne fans. Keller: “Every challenge also offers an opportunity. It is precisely with this attitude that we will look ahead and tackle this challenge.”

Whereby few people would trust him to overcome this crisis, since he was partly responsible for putting Cologne in this position in the first place. These are troubled times in Cologne, and a contemplative Christmas looks different. Without new players, the club is threatened with relegation to the second division. And then, without new players in that division either – something that has never happened in the history of the Bundesliga.

And almost even worse: the transfer ban also applies to the U19 and U17 teams. Cologne prides itself on its training, but that too has been put on hold for the time being. Because if no one comes, even the top talents are bound to wonder whether it makes sense to spend the last few years of their training here. You don’t even know where the club should start putting out fires first.

It would do the board of directors good to speak up. After all, they haven’t been heard from in Cologne for a long time…