Cardiff City reportedly have until September 5 to reach a settlement with Nantes in the dispute over the payment of Emiliano Sala's £15m transfer fee.
According to the BBC, football's governing body FIFA has sent a letter to both clubs explaining that if a decision is not reached, it will make its own ruling on the matter.
President Gianni Infantino has previously suggested he hoped the two clubs would come to an agreement themselves, but there has so far appeared to be little progress in solving the dispute.
Cardiff have always insisted that certain conditions of the deal to bring the Argentine striker to the Welsh capital had not been met, and that Sala was subsequently not a Premier League player.
As such they have refused to make any interim payments, despite Nantes insisting that the appropriate paperwork was completed.
A spokesperson for FIFA told WalesOnline: "We can confirm that a letter was sent to the parties on behalf of the chairman of the players' status committee.
"Please understand we cannot comment further at this stage."
Sala and pilot David Ibbotson were both travelling in a light aircraft from Nantes towards Cardiff when it crashed into the English Channel on January 21.
After the aircraft was located, Sala's body was recovered on February 6, while Mr Ibbotson remains unaccounted for.
The most recent report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said Sala had "potentially fatal" levels of carbon monoxide in his system, with Mr Ibbotson likely to have been affected. You can read the full report here.
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