The player status committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has issued Hyderabad FC with a second ban on registering new players, both domestically and internationally. This ban comes as a result of the club’s failure to pay the outstanding dues owed to defender Adil Khan.
Adil signed a three-year contract with Hyderabad on June 1, 2020. On February 21, 2023, he sent a notice to De Grande Sports Pvt Ltd, the owners of Hyderabad FC, stating that he had not been paid his full salary from September 2022 to January 2023. Adil also reminded the club that he had the right to terminate the agreement if they unlawfully failed to make payment for two months, serving a 15-day notice for them to fulfill their financial obligations.
As the club failed to clear the outstanding dues, Adil lodged a complaint with the AIFF. The player status committee, chaired by Godfrey Pereira, determined that the repeated failure of Hyderabad FC to pay the dues on time constituted an aggravated offense. Therefore, under Article 14.4 of the Regulations, the club is banned from registering any new players, both nationally and internationally, for the next two registration periods, effective immediately.
Additionally, Hyderabad FC has been instructed to pay Adil Rs 1 crore, along with five percent interest per annum, as of May 31, 2023. This amount represents the unpaid salary specified in the Addendum Agreement dated August 30, 2021.
However, the order states that if Hyderabad FC clears all pending dues, the ban on registering new players may be suspended under Article 14.6 of the Regulations. It is worth noting that the club has already filed an appeal against the AIFF’s decision, according to sources within the organization.
The ban imposed by the AIFF on registering new players will significantly impact Hyderabad FC, particularly because it comes after FIFA had reportedly lifted a previous ban imposed on the club. Since November 2022, the club has been serving an international transfer ban due to a contract dispute involving Spanish midfielder Nestor Jesus Gordillo.
Hyderabad FC was the only team from the Indian Super League (ISL) that did not make any signings during the January transfer window. Furthermore, the club has been unable to register any of their new signings for this season, including Makan Chothe (FC Goa), Petteri Pennanen (Tampereen Ilves), Joe Knowles (Brisbane Roar), Jonathan Moya (FC Anyang), and Vignesh Dakshinamurthy (Mumbai City).