FIFA bans Lorient after Cheetah petition

A petition by Division Two side, Cheetah FC, over its share of the transfer of Ghanaian international, Alhassan Wakaso, has resulted in an indefinite FIFA transfer ban on newly-promoted French Ligue 1 side, FC Lorient.

FIFA ruling
The terms of the decision was communicated to the French Football Association for implementation in a letter signed by the Head of the FIFA Disciplinary Department, Carlos Schneider Salvadores, in Zurich on May 5, 2020 and copied to Cheetah FC and FC Lorient-Bretagne.  

“We would appreciate your taking due note of this decision and ensuring its implementation,” the letter stated.

Facts of the case
According to the CEO of Offside Consult, Mr Ashford Tettey Oku, the ruling followed a presentation his outfit made on behalf of the Ghanaian side in connection with the international transfer of Alhassan Wakaso from Portuguese club, Rio Ave.

Giving a background to the latest FIFA ruling, Mr Oku said Cheetah FC initially transferred Wakaso, a younger brother of Black Stars midfielder, Mubarak Wakaso, to Portimonense of Portugal, who in turn transferred the player to Rio Ave FC.

“In 2017 Rio Ave sold him to FC Lorient-Bretagne, giving rise to the statutory payment of solidarity contribution to Cheetah FC.
“From 2017 to date, the case has dragged on before the FIFA Player Status Committee and the Disciplinary Committee,” he disclosed further.

Failure to pay solidary fee
He said on May 5, 2020, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee gave FC Lorient-Bretagne up to June 5, 2020 to pay the solidarity, together with a five per cent interest of about 10,000 euros to Cheetah FC or face an automatic transfer ban.

“Yesterday, I wrote to FIFA and the French Football Federation (FFF) to trigger the process, meaning until they pay they cannot register any new player,” he stated.

Mr Oku warned that If FC Lorient-Bretagne persisted for some time, he would move for severer sanctions like points deduction or demotion.