Chelsea have been cleared by FIFA of any wrongdoing concerning Mohamed Salah’s loan move to AS Roma last summer, Evening Standard reports.
The Egyptian winger was signed from FC Basel in a £11million deal by the Blues in January 2014, and was sent to Serie A side Fiorentina on loan to gain experience on first-team football.
Salah returned to Chelsea in 2015, and was then loaned to AS Roma for the 2015/16 campaign, but Fiorentina established a complaint to FIFA claiming they had agreed another spell for the player as he shouldn’t have gone to Rome instead.
The investigations started in September 2015 when Fiorentina alleged Chelsea had made a “breach of contract”, which the FIFA spokesman explained likewise:
We can confirm having received a claim from the Italian club, Fiorentina, against the English club, Chelsea, and the player, Mohamed Salah Ghaly, for breach of contract. The matter is still pending and being investigated.
However, FIFA have now thrown out Fiorentina’s complaint and cleared Chelsea of any wrongdoing, according to a spokesperson for football’s world governing body:
We can confirm that the dispute resolution chamber (DRC) dealt with the dispute opposing the Italian club, ACF Fiorentina, to the player, Mohamed Salah Ghaly, and the English club, Chelsea FC.
The findings of the relevant decision, without grounds, have been communicated to the parties on June 8, 2016.
The claim of the Italian club was rejected. Since the decision is not yet final and binding, we are not in a position to comment on it any further.
Despite spending a year and a half away from Stamford Bridge, Salah remains as a Chelsea player, with Roma looking to clinch the 23-year-old’s loan deal permanent this summer.
