Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey signed for Mohun Bagan on Tuesday, ending almost four months of transfer tussle with his former club East Bengal.
Having ensured his future with his new club, the outspoken Australian said he was relieved at being allowed to play for the club of his choice but dubbed the whole process unfair.
“I felt I was in a situation where I was being blackmailed. I still feel everything has been unfair with me,” Ozbey said referring to the decision by the State-governing body — IFA — which held him guilty of misconduct and imposed a penalty of almost Rs. 15.50 lakh.
“I knew if I approached the world body, FIFA, the situation would have gone in my favour but I sought to respect the decision of the local body,” he added.
The player was also not happy with the way East Bengal held him up for almost 40 days even after the IFA decision, which he was always willing to comply.
Ozbey was critical of the ‘token’ system (the unique identification voucher issued by IFA to a player during inter-club transfer) and said the State body should to explain the system to every foreign player, who is unaware of its usability. “The token system is unique to this place and does not exist anywhere else. There should be a uniform contract system for the benefit of all,” he said.
Mohun Bagan secretary Anjan Mitra, who was present with the player, said the club will immediately write to IFA to review the inappropriate token-based transfer system and bring in place a standardised contract system.
The secretary also said that the State body should update its website naming all the players and their respective clubs and tenure of their contract to make the transfer system transparent.
Ozbey will make his debut for Mohun Bagan on Wednesday, when the team opens the season with All-Airlines Cup semifinal, where its has been directly seeded, against George Telegraph.
Mohun Bagan also signed defender Nirmal Chetri, midfielder Sheik Jewel Raja and goalkeeper Sudipta Banerjee alongside Ozbey on Tuesday.
