FIFA say no to early Barthez move

Fabien Barthez's chances of playing for Marseille before Christmas were all but ended today when FIFA upheld the decision not to allow him to move outside the transfer window.

The Manchester United goalkeeper is already training with the French side with a view to a loan move until the end of the season as his Old Trafford career is effectively over with the arrival of Tim Howard in the summer.

Barthez is hoping a switch to the Velodrome will resurrect his international career but he will now have to wait until the new year before making his Marseille debut.

A FIFA spokesman issued a statement which said: "The FIFA executive committee rejected the appeal by the team Olympique de Marseille and reaffirmed the decision taken by the FIFA players' status committee, regarding the team's request to sign the player Fabian Barthez outside of the official registration periods."

The decision can be appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport but, with the transfer window opening soon and the French winter break starting on December 20, that path seems an unlikely one for Marseille to take.