Atletico accepts January transfer ban amid ongoing appeal

ZURICH (AP) - Atletico Madrid has accepted it will not sign players in January while it fights a FIFA transfer ban at sport's highest court.

FIFA and Atletico jointly say in a statement they agreed a timetable for the Court of Arbitration for Sport to give a final ruling on the Spanish club's appeal by next June.

Atletico could have sought to freeze its one-year ban pending the verdict but has "waived its right" to try, the statement says.

Still, Atletico "completely maintains its position that the transfer ban is unjustified."

FIFA imposed one-year sanctions on Atletico and city rival Real Madrid for signing underage players in violation of transfer rules.

During an appeal to FIFA in the offseason, Atletico signed several players including France forward Kevin Gameiro and Argentina midfielder Nicolas Gaitan.