Monaco under investigation after reports of illegal youth recruiting

Paris - The French Football Federation announced Tuesday an investigation into claims Monaco may have paid illegal signing on fees to youth team recruits.

The FFF took action over the accusations which surfaced earlier as part of the Football Leaks affair with French investigative platform Mediapart.

"The conditions surrounding the recruitment of two youth players by AS Monaco" will be looked into," read a joint statement from the federation and the the French Football League (LFP)

"An investigation will determine any eventual disciplinary moves or possible legal cases," the statement said.

"The recruitment of players is highly regulated, and even more so in the case of minors," the statement said.

Asked by Mediapart if the documents they had concerning the two transfers were legal, the LFP said such documents "would be considered null and void and both parties would be sanctioned."

The matter is the latest chapter in a dreadful season for Monaco.

They were eliminated from the Champions League, dropped into the Ligue 1 relegation zone and saw their president quit France for Moscow last Saturday after being released on bail for fraud charges.