Huge problems for CFR Cluj before the mercato! FIFA blocked the transfers of the club from Gruia » Not even Steaua escaped the ban
Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Wednesday, 27 May 2026, 23:29 / Updated on Wednesday, 27 May 2026 23:31
CFR Cluj received a transfer ban from FIFA, just before the summer mercato period, after several disputes that appeared in recent weeks.
The club from Gruia cannot currently legitimize new players until the debts that generated the sanction are paid.
PHOTO. CFR Cluj appears several times on the FIFA list
The situation of Transylvanians is a complicated one before the new season. In the official FIFA portal dedicated to clubs sanctioned with a ban on transfers, the name of those from CFR Cluj appears several times, following some disputes formulated in May.
CFR Cluj received a transfer ban from FIFA // Capture: FIFA
The cases concern the non-payment of sums to former or current players of the team.
Every dispute settled against the club automatically attracts a “transfer ban” sanction, which means that the Gruia team cannot register new transfers until the debts are settled.
It is not the first sanction for the club from Gruia
It is not the first time that CFR Cluj has been in such a situation in recent years.
The Transylvanian group has also had transfer bans from FIFA, but each time it managed to pay the arrears and lift the sanctions before the closing of the mercato period.
It remains to be seen if this time too the management will be able to quickly solve the financial problems in order to be able to make transfers in the summer.
And Steaua has a ban on transfers
CSA Steaua Bucharest also appears on the FIFA list. The League Two club have a transfer ban that came into effect on May 20.
CSA Steaua received a transfer ban from FIFA // Capture: FIFA
Also, CSA Steaua still does not have the right to promotion in the Superleague due to its form of organization. The club is under the direct authority of the Ministry of National Defense and operates as an institution under public law.
According to the Sports Law and the regulations applied by the Romanian Football Federation, teams that play in professional competitions must be organized as private law entities, either joint stock companies or non-profit associations. Thus, even if Steaua sports promotion from League 2, the club cannot receive the necessary license to perform in the first echelon.
To solve the situation, there are two options discussed in recent years: association with a private investor and changing the legal form of the club or amending the Sports Law, so that clubs under public law can participate in professional leagues. To date, however, none of the solutions have been implemented.
