Belgian second-division side Seraing United have been banned by FIFA from signing players for two years after the club agreed to third-party ownership deals.
Seraing have also been fined 150,000 Swiss francs (£100,000) after it was revealed that Malta-based fund Doyen had reportedly added €300,000 (£218,600) to the club's budget in exchange for players' rights.
The club failed in a challenge of the ban in July, where they argued that it broke European Union competition laws.
However, a FIFA committee said that Seraing "sold part of the economic rights of several players to a third party".
Third-party ownership has been banned in the UK since the start of the 2008-09 season after it was discovered that both Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were owned by offshore companies when they joined West Ham United in 2006.
Written by
Nathan Staples
Nathan Staples
