I-League: Punjab FC handed three-window transfer ban by FIFA

I-League side Punjab FC have been given a three-window transfer ban by FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) for failing to honour North Macedonian footballer Hristijan Denkovski’s contract, as per a report by Goal.com.

The transfer ban will start from the upcoming window, starting August 1. Apparently, the club did not pay a compensation amount of $18,000 to Denkovski following which the player and the club met over a contractual dispute. FIFA’s DRC passed a judgement in favour of the footballer in February and the club was instructed to compensate the player within 45 days.

However, Punjab FC did not follow FIFA’s directive within the given time frame and consequently, the transfer ban has been imposed. The report, though, further adds that the club still has 45 days to clear the dues, after which the ban will come into effect and the ban will be lifted as and when the club clears the dues.

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Denkovski had signed a one-year deal with then Minerva Punjab on July 5, 2019, the contract was supposed to run from September 1, 2019, until May 31, 2020. The footballer had followed protocol and submitted his proof of no Third Party Ownership (TPO) to the club on July 30, but then Minerva Punjab informed him that the contract had to be terminated and declared null and void due to their change in ownership.

Former Punjab FC owner Ranjit Bajaj told Goal, "We had to terminate the player’s contract back then because he did not arrive in time in India. We had already started our pre-season but still, the player did not arrive so we had to terminate the contract as we could not afford to waste more time."

Bajaj further stated that prior to the change of ownership of the club, the new owners had been informed about the entire situation.