Sport | Football
Decision to extend transfer deadline criticised by clubs
The UAE Football League's decision to delay the transfer deadline has been criticised by some clubs.
- By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter
- Published: 22:59 September 12, 2008
Dubai: The UAE Football League's decision to delay the transfer deadline has been criticised by some clubs.
Clubs had until September 10 to register players for the new season but the UAE Football League (UFL) decided to delay the cut-off until September 20, after the first round of matches.
The UFL said the decision was taken after requests from a number of clubs, particularly Al Ain and Sharjah.
Mohammad Al Mahmoud, the UFL's Vice Chairman and official spokesman, said: "We do not have anything in writing, but some clubs did ask us for more time. Officially we have not received anything in writing from any of the clubs because of the lack of time.
"Everything has been done verbally and we decided to give the clubs a little bit of flexibility as this is the first season that we go professional."
Some club officials criticised the move, saying the UFL had strayed from the 'professional' ethos by making such a concession.
"It should be a decision from the executive committee of the UFL and this, in turn, had to conveyed to all the clubs involved in the UFL," said Khalifa Sulaiman, president of Al Ahli Club.
"We need to have tighter regulations more so when it is affecting all the clubs," said Qadhim Muroshid, President of the Al Nasr Club board of directors.
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