Chelsea face a wait to discover whether their one-year transfer ban will be temporarily lifted after lodging an appeal with Fifa.

Arsenal will play their second leg at the Emirates on a Wednesday at 5pm.

There's no Christian Eriksen in the Denmark squad for the upcoming Nations League meeting with the Republic of Ireland later this month.

Chelsea have announced a name change for their female team, who will now be known as Chelsea Football Club Women.

Chelsea’s poor form since Christmas has gone almost under the radar. It has seen us fall from third on the coattails of United to fifth and the ignominy of following another league-winning season by failing to qualify for the Champions League.

Chelsea were last night linked with a shock move for veteran Stoke City striker Peter Crouch after an ankle injury to Andy Carroll ruled out a January switch to Stamford Bridge for the West Ham target man.

A real feelgood factor reverberates around Stamford Bridge at the moment. A clearly delighted owner (who is STILL not bored — sorry!) is entertaining Chelsea alumni and American movie stars in his box, the current Chelsea team are playing with smiles on their faces and a swagger that only top spot and an average of two and a half points a game can give you and a manager is flinging himself with unbridled joyous abandon into the welcoming arms of the adoring SW6 faithful.

New Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has revealed a speech from Antonio Conte helped convince him to leave Premier League champions Leicester for Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho is expected to give evidence at an employment tribunal brought by former Chelsea first-team doctor Eva Carneiro after she reportedly turned down an offer of £1.2m to settle.

Leicester, Arsenal and Chelsea have expressed their disappointment at the publication of doping allegations made against them which they claim are “without foundation”.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Jose Mourinho revealed he and his coaching staff watched Chelsea’s players very closely during the international break trying to determine a reason for their poor form.

The Premier League Doctors’ Group has said safeguards need to be in place for team doctors treating players on the pitch following Eva Carneiro’s departure from Chelsea.

Football Association board member Heather Rabbatts has expressed her “sadness and anger” at news of Chelsea team doctor Eva Carneiro’s departure from the club.

If you’re hankering for some football goodness and have a Sony console you’re in luck, the demo of FIFA 16 has just unlocked on PS3 and PS4. It’s also set to arrive on Xbox 360 and Xbox One later on today.

Ed Miliband has challenged the Conservatives to “stop defending the indefensible” and match a Labour pledge to strip wealthy individuals of their “non-dom” tax break status.

A huge manhunt is under way for a Lithuanian builder following the double murder of a man and woman in a village house in England.

Barcelona’s former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been omitted from FIFA’s 23-man list of contenders for the Ballon D’or award.

ALL-IRELAND SFC SEMI-FINAL:

Ever wondered what it’d be like living life with a billionaire dad?

As a passionate Chelsea FC fan Richard Attenborough could not resist showing off his club to some of his showbiz pals.

Tributes have poured in for esteemed actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, who dominated the British film business for more than half a century.

Two of the Premier League’s title hopefuls flexed their transfer muscles yesterday as Diego Costa completed his £32 million move from Atletico Madrid to Chelsea while Liverpool signed Lazar Markovic from Benfica for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £20m.

Paris Saint-Germain have announced the signing of Brazil defender David Luiz from Chelsea.

Paris St Germain expect to complete a deal for David Luiz prior to the World Cup after agreeing a fee with Chelsea for the transfer of the Brazil defender.

David Luiz is set to move from Chelsea to Paris St Germain after the clubs confirmed a deal had been agreed for the transfer of the Brazil defender.

Ashley Cole has announced he is set to leave Chelsea.

European Union leaders will today sign a trade deal with Ukraine designed to give economic support to the beleaguered state in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Juan Mata left Chelsea as a two-time player of the year last night after the Blues sold him to Manchester United.

Chelsea made a loss of £49.4million in the last financial year, but the west London club say they still satisfy UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations.

Chelsea last night insisted they still satisfy Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations despite making a loss of £49.4 million (€59.3m) in the last financial year.

Frank Lampard may equal Bobby Tambling’s Chelsea scoring record today, but the bond between the Stamford Bridge legends will always be stronger than stats. Kieran Shannon spoke to the Cork-based striker about Lampard, Jimmy Greaves and the swinging sixties in West London.

This was probably the moment when everything finally caught up with Chelsea FC; all the fixture congestion, the off-field trauma, the sackings, the negative headlines, all the energy-sapping distractions that have made Rafa Benitez’s job almost impossible; but even so you have to say, in true Chelsea style, they made a fight of it.

The mother of the model shot dead at Oscar Pistorius’s house says the family wants answers following her Valentine’s Day killing.

Chelsea will play matches in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia on their 2013 pre-season tour in July, the Barclays Premier League side have announced.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is confident striker Demba Ba’s proposed move to Chelsea will go through, allowing the Magpies to “move on”.

Demba Ba’s Newcastle exit moved a step closer this afternoon when Chelsea finally triggered the release-clause in his contract.

Mark Clattenburg will be back in action tonight after Chelsea, the Premier League and the Professional Game Match Officials Limited issued a joint statement admitting regrets over the way his recent ordeal was handled and calling for a line to be drawn under the affair.

Referee Mark Clattenburg has been officially cleared over allegations he racially abused Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel and has described his ordeal, which saw him temporarily barred from officiating, as “truly frightening”.

Football Association chairman David Bernstein today hit back at claims that the governing body is “institutionally racist”.

Chelsea and the Football Association have been criticised by a campaigning group after the police announced no action will be taken over alleged comments made by referee Mark Clattenburg.