Rollers say Nato deal above board
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Tuesday February 23, 2016 13:37
The two clubs are challenging his eligibility to play for Rollers in the last two games.
Nato joined Township Rollers recently after a stint in India and signed a four-month contract.
He made his debut a fortnight ago in Rollers’ 3-0 win over Gilport Lions. On Friday, he helped Rollers to a 3-1 victory over Chiefs in the first leg of the Mascom Top 8 semi final. Lions have reportedly filed a protest, arguing that Nato was signed after the closure of the transfer window.
Chiefs confirmed yesterday that they are lodging a protest since they feel Nato has been improperly registered. They were scheduled to hand in the formal protest yesterday to the Botswana Premier League (BPL).
“Yes we are formally lodging a protest because we feel Nato was not eligible to play against us. He was registered outside the transfer window and to our understanding, his matter should have been handed over to the Players’ Status Committee to make a determination since his registration was not done during the window,” Chiefs spokesperson, Clifford Mogomotsi said yesterday.
However Rollers’ spokesperson, Bafana Pheto said as far as they are concerned, they did everything right regarding the registration of the player.
“We followed all the proper channels. Nato is a professional player and had no contract with any club. He was a free agent and had his release letter,” he said.
Pheto said if anyone has a problem with the registration of the player outside the transfer window, they should challenge FIFA. He said FIFA gave them the green light to register the player by the release of the International Transfer Certificate (ITC). “As far as we are concerned, we did everything right,” Pheto added.
According to the FIFA Statutes, players may only be registered during one of the two annual registration periods fixed by the relevant association. “As an exception to this rule, a professional whose contract has expired prior to the end of a registration period may be registered outside that registration period.
Associations are authorised to register such professionals provided due consideration is given to the sporting integrity of the relevant competition. Where a contract has been terminated with just cause, FIFA may take provisional measures in order to avoid abuse, subject to article 22,” reads the statutes.