Manchester City have avoided a transfer ban from FIFA for breaches of rules regarding the registration of foreign minors.
The Premier League champions have, however, been fined 370,000 Swiss francs (€340,000) by world football's governing body.
It was feared City could suffer as similar fate as Chelsea in receiving a two-window transfer ban.
FIFA had been investigation City's international transfers for a number of years. It was believed they had broken rules through their relationship with Danish side FC Nordsjaelland and the Right To Dream football academy in Ghana. Both are owned by Nordsjaelland president, Tom Vernon.
International transfers of players under 18 are only allowed if the players' parents have moved to the new country for non-footballing reasons, they and the club are based close to the relevant national border or the transfer takes place within the European Economic Area and the player is at least 16.
Last year, George Davies of Sierra Leone, and Dominic Oduro of Ghana told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that they had played for City before the age of 18 following moves from Nordsjaelland. Both players have since moved on from City.
Another Danish publication - Politiken - claimed last year that City had a secret deal with Vernon to have first refusal on the best prospects from Right To Dream.
A City statement claims the breaches were made before the current regulations applied, "The Club accepts responsibility for the breaches which arose as a result of misinterpretation of the regulations in question. All of the breaches occurred before December 2016 when guidance on the interpretation of the provisions was issued, since which date Manchester City has been fully compliant."
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid had all been handed bans in recent years for similar breaches of regulations regarding the transfer of minors.
FIFA's statement reads:
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned English club Manchester City FC for breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18.
Manchester City FC was found to have breached, amongst others, article 19 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.
The Disciplinary Committee took into account the fact that Manchester City FC accepted its responsibility and sanctioned the club with a fine of CHF 370,000.
The protection of minors is a key element in FIFA’s overall regulatory framework relating to the transfer of players, and the effective enforcement of these rules is paramount, as has also been confirmed on various occasions by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The decision issued by the Disciplinary Committee was notified today.
