At the centre of a storm: Yanga defender Ramadhani Kessy kicks the ball during a warm-up session at the National Stadium recently. Simba SC accuses rivals Yanga of irregularly signing him up. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
The huge chunk of that fine, Sh50 million, is for violating player registration rules and regulation in international competitions, while Sh3 million is for violating player registration rules and regulations as per TFF principles.
Dar es Salaam. Young Africans have been ordered to pay a total Sh53 million in a verdict by the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) on the Hassan Ramadhan Kessy saga.
The huge chunk of that fine, Sh50 million, is for violating player registration rules and regulation in international competitions, while Sh3 million is for violating player registration rules and regulations as per TFF principles.
The verdict was released yesterday by the TFF’s Legal and Players Status Committee after it ruled that Young Africans had included Kessy’s name in the list of registered players on June 10, while the player’s contract with their city rivals Simba SC was due to end on June 15, this year.
TFF information and communications officer Alfred Lucas said yesterday that the committee made the ruling after it was satisfied with the evidence Simba SC produced.
Young Africans secretary general Baraka Deusdedit confirmed that the Jangwani Street side was aware of the ruling, but said they were planning to challenge it because they still believe they met the requirements of TFF and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) with regards to player registration.
“As a club, we are not allowed to communicate with CAF in this matter; we have to follow procedure, including seeking assistance from TFF. In Kessy’s matter, we contacted TFF and submitted the name to CAF, so if this is wrong, the committee will let us know,” said Baraka.
He also noted that Yanga was still waiting for official communication from TFF, and would then respond in writing.
Simba SC president Evans Aveva said they would respond to the committee’s decision after meeting with other club executive committee members.
“I cannot say that we will agree with the decision or not; we are waiting for official communication from TFF, and then we will discuss the matter with the club leaders,” said Aveva.
Before the ruling, the TFF’s Legal and Players Status Committee, led by vice chairman Raymond Wawa, had given Simba and Yanga the option to seek settle their case through the mediation of renowned advocate and sports administrator Said El Maamry, but the two sides failed to agree after weeks of discussions trying to reach common ground.
The matter had to be sent back to the country’s soccer governing body for the ruling. Simba SC was demanding Sh600 million from Young Africans for violating TFF and international player registration regulations when they signed Kessy for a two-year contract early this year.
