Australian footballer Tolgay Ozbey submitted a letter to the governing body of the sport in the state — Indian Football Association (IFA) — confirming his willingness to comply with the decision of its player status committee (PSC).
Meeting earlier in the week, the PSC had held Tolgay guilty of misconduct in switching to Mohun Bagan after taking an advance amount from his former club East Bengal.
The IFA committee had imposed a penalty of Rs. 5 lakh and had also asked the player to tender an apology in writing while paying an additional Rs. 10,29,000 to East Bengal.
“We have received a letter where Tolgay has said that he is willing to comply with the PSC’s decision,” said the IFA secretary Utpal Ganguly after an emergent meeting of the PSC on Friday.
“The player said he will make the payment once East Bengal agrees to the PSC decision and returns his agreement token (an unique identification medallion issued by the IFA to players registered under it) which is in the club’s possession,” Mr. Ganguly added.
Tolgay can only sign for Mohun Bagan once he gets back his ‘token’ and clearance from his previous club.
While respecting the PSC’s decision, East Bengal in its letter has sought time till August 9, by which time the club’s executive committee will meet to formally decide on the IFA decision.
The IFA secretary said the player will have to wait till the second week of next month and hoped that East Bengal will comply with the PSC decision. This would mean that Tolgay would not be able to turn out for his chosen team in the season opener — All-Airlines Gold Cup — which will be played between August 2 and 11.
