London  - Chelsea have taken the ban on them signing players for the next two transfer windows to the Court of Arbitration in an effort to be allowed to sign players in January.

The English Premier League side are banned from signing anyone in January on the summer transfer window after being found guilty of inducing Gael Kakuta to breach his contract with Lens two years ago.

The CAS confirmed on Thursday that Chelsea have asked for FIFA's ruling to be suspended until the outcome of the appeal is known.

In a statement, the CAS said: "A decision concerning the request for a stay is likely to be issued by the CAS at the beginning of November."(dpa)