FIFA has imposed as four-month ban on Mark Bresciano in relation to his transfer from Al Nasr to Al-Gharafa.
The 33-year old Australian international midfielder will be ineligible to play again until March because of the terms of his move from the UAE to Qatar in August last year.
Bresciano, who calls Empoli, Parma, Palermo and Lazio as some of his former clubs, has been banned under article 17 of the FIFA regulations for the status of transfer of players relating to a release clause in his Al Nasr contract which was supposed to fetch the club $1.87million in compensation.
"This is not a unique case; there are many precedents," said Al-Gharafa general secretary Jassim Al Mansouri.
"We as a club are not a part of this case. As the player ended his contract with his former club before joining us, our next step will be filing an appeal to the court of arbitration for sport."
A Football Federation Australia spokesman added: "FFA is currently studying the judgment and considering the options.
"We will do all we can to assist Mark Bresciano and his representatives in having this issue resolved. The advice from FIFA is that the suspension does not apply to Tuesday night's match against Costa Rica. Mark is available for selection and will still continue his preparations with the squad."
In addition, Al-Gharafa have also been banned from signing players for 12 months.
