KOCHI: Indian Super League franchise Kerala Blasters FC declared Tuesday that all “necessary actions have been taken to clear pending obligations” in the wake of receiving a letter from FIFA stating that the club has been banned from signing players in the upcoming transfer window.
The Yellow Army is set to sign Serbian Ivan Vukomanovic as head coach as they prepare for the new season.
The correspondence from the FIFA player status committee was made on June 1 and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sent a letter to the club on June 7.
The club management issued the following statement on the matter: “Kerala Blasters Football Club can confirm that all necessary actions have been taken to clear pending obligations with respect to the transfer ban imposed by FIFA on the club.
“The club expects to have the required clearance in due time. Further, the club assures all its fans that the ban will not affect the ongoing recruitment of players and preparations for the upcoming season.”
Another outfit that is facing a FIFA ban in East Bengal. Foreign player Jhonny Acosta has approached the FIFA player status committee to get his wages and the Red and Golds have also been punished with a transfer ban by the football body.
In this case however, there is little to zero likelihood of the club authorities being able to make a declaration akin to what the Kerala Blasters management have done simply because the Kolkata giants’ “old guard” (read executive committee) have vowed NOT to sign the final binding agreement with its new investors Shree Cement.
Shree Cement East Bengal management have subsequently communicated via their social media platforms that they have decided to suspend all social media activities “until further notice”. It bears noting that the SC East Bengal management has already made clear that there will be zero further investment into the club until a final binding agreement is in place.
There is also the no small matter of the club having to address the fact that NINE SC East Bengal players have moved the player status committee (PSC) of the AIFF, complaining of non-payment of salary for the last few months.
Most of the players’ contracts ended last week, except that of Balwant Singh, who had signed a two-year deal.
If the players win their case (as they are expected to), then liabilities will keep piling for the club irrespective of whether investor Shree Cement stays on board or not. The club already has to shell out tens of millions after Indian players of Quess East Bengal approached the PSC regarding payment irregularities and got a verdict in their favour. A transfer ban was imposed but later revoked following an appeal by SC East Bengal. The two-window transfer ban came for non-payment of salaries to footballers like Pintu Mahata, Gurwinder Singh, Abhas Thapa and Rakshit Dagar.
Having said that, East Bengal’s football secretary Saikat Ganguly has “assured” that the club is all set to clear Acosta’s dues and as soon as the issue is settled (emphasis ours), the transfer ban would also be lifted.
“We have received Fifa’s letter of transfer ban today (Tuesday) from our investor Shree Cement Limited. The club would act accordingly to get the ban lifted,” Sarkar told Telegraph India.
As they say, talk is cheap. So SportzPower will prefer to wait on that one.
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