TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: Cavelossim today made known to the Match Commissioner appointed for their GFA Kingfisher Pro League match against Vasco Club their intention to protest on the question of the eligibility of a player fielded by Vasco at Duler stadium, Mapusa.
Cavelossim beat Vasco and as such, need not protest against the results of the match since it went in their favour. However, they have pointed out that Vasco fielded foreign player Stephen Offie, who in the first-leg of the same competition was fielded by Dempo Club earlier and hence their intention to lodge the protest which must be done within 24 hours from the end of the match.
Cavelossim raised the question if one player can have two registrations for two different teams in the same season. Offie, they alleged, had played for Dempo in the same tournament and now had been granted transfer by GFA and consequently has been fielded by Vasco in the last three matches now.
The GFA is understood to have gone by the I-League regulations which allow two registrations in the same season, with Pratamesh’s transfer from Pailan Arrows to Dempo being a case in point. “If the AIFF can allow, so can the GFA,” is learnt to be the reason.
The GFA has not been publishing the rules on transfer of players for a couple of years now, and this being the case, the precedent of the higher authority has been validated by GFA. It is pertinent to note that such transfers are allowed in the Premiership but recently Mario Balloteli was refused permission to play for Milan following his transfer from Manchester City since the Champions League regulations do not permit two registrations in the same season.
There is ambiguity on the GFA permission, as some GFA members have argued that the I-League was a separate entity with specific rules and regulations, which cannot be made applicable to the local league which has its own set of rules.
Meanwhile, Vasco Club filed for arbitration over the matter wherein three points were deducted following a protest lodged by Cavelossim on the question of one of the latter players obtaining transfer without submitting the transfer form. The decision is awaited.
