On 3 September 2009, it was announced by the
FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber,
[8] that Kakuta would be banned for four months and be fined €780,000 due to a breach of contract with his old club
Lens in order to sign for Chelsea in the summer of 2007. Chelsea were also banned from signing any players in the next two
transfer windows due to their involvement in inducing the player to break his contract at Lens, meaning they would have been unable to buy or sell players until January 2011. Further to this they received a €130,000 fine, payable to RC Lens.
[6]
The club stated that they would "mount the strongest appeal possible" and described the behavior of FIFA as "extraordinarily arbitrary decision". Chelsea believed "the sanctions are without precedent to this level and totally disproportionate to the alleged offense and the financial penalty imposed".
[9] Chelsea appealed to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport, who subsequently lifted the sanctions on the club and the player after ruling that Kakuta did not have a valid contract with Lens, and therefore could not have breached it. Chelsea's transfer ban was suspended later in the same year, and was lifted in February 2010