London:
FIFA is investigating Manchester City over claims by French club Rennes it illegally poached a teenage defender.
The 17-year-old Jeremy Helan was signed in February after an "illegal" approach, according to Rennes, although City insisted it has acted within the rules and didn't induce the player to breach his contract.
"We asked FIFA to intervene on March 19, after City took him from us at the end of January," Rennes general manager Pierre Dreossi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "City had the feeling that the player was free, but we had told them that he was under contract with us for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons.
"We think that City should have gotten more information before trying to sign him."
The dispute between Rennes and Helan is currently going through the French courts.
"The player didn't want to stay at Rennes and wanted to go to City so he asked all the French League's commissions to rule in his favor," Dreossi said. "He even went before the French Olympic committee and every time his request was denied. So he decided to refer the matter to the French labor courts."
City claimed the dispute predated its interest in Helan.
"City obviously cannot comment on the case until the French judicial process has run its course," the Premier League club said. "However we are comfortable that we have acted within the rules throughout the process and in no way induced any breach of contract by Jeremy Helan."
City's rival Manchester United had initially tried to sign Helan.
"United understood that it was impossible to make a deal as they didn't want to steal the player from us," Dreossi said. "They stepped back."
However, United could also face a FIFA investigation if another French side, Le Havre, pursues its case against the Premier League champions after claiming 16-year-old Paul Pogba was "stolen" when under contract.
Le Havre has accused United of paying Pogba's parents euro200,000 ($290,000) and buying them a house when it signed the France youth international in July.
"We will not accept the good name of Manchester United being trawled around on Web sites and the press to say that we have done these things which we are not allowed to do and we would never do," United chief executive David Gill said Tuesday. "We've done everything, we think, by the book. We are not intimidating Le Havre. We have no intention of intimidating Le Havre."
The cases intensify the spotlight on the pursuit of young talent by English clubs a week after FIFA banned Chelsea from signing players until Jan. 2011 for inducing Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens and move to Stamford Bridge.
"We are very happy about the Chelsea-Lens decision taken by FIFA. I think that the FIFA's answer show that football authorities fully understood the urgent need to enforce the rulings," Dreossi of Rennes said. "This is a problem for French clubs and also for the French players because of their bad decisions to leave too early, they don't have the career they could have had.
"When you leave as a 16-year-old boy to go abroad, you are increasing the risks of depriving yourself of the whole training quality. A very small number of players have succeeded after leaving very young."
Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said after meetings involving officials from more than 100 clubs across Europe on Tuesday that rival clubs are shocked at the severity of the punishment imposed on his club.
As the Blues appeal against the ban, Kenyon said they are trying to protect the 18-year-old Gael Kakuta and "ensure that he is fully supported at what is a difficult time for him."
"I think there is a general shock," Kenyon said in Geneva. "(Gael) is shocked like a lot of other people. Gael is a very good young man, he is a good professional. He wants to develop his career."
He said Kakuta's move was "in no way child trafficking" - the phrase UEFA president Michel Platini has used to describe international transfers of players aged under 18.