Dubai: Five players who were registered after the closure of the October 2 transfer window have had their moves postponed by the UAE Football Association, it was confirmed on Sunday.
Clubs had appealed to the UAE FA to reopen the transfer window in order to complete the process, but acting general secretary Mohammad Abdullah Hazzam confirmed this wouldn’t happen.
“It has been agreed not to approve the extension of the deadline,” he said. “After correspondence with Fifa and the opinion of the experts, we realised that the best option is to invalidate the registration.
“Regarding the fate of the players, the board decided to keep their registration pending with their current clubs until the next registration window [in January] while they will not be allowed to return to their respective original clubs,” he added.
“We appreciate the amount of damages that have been sustained by the clubs, but we haven’t received any complaint from them so far. No damages would be payable except in the event of an official complaint that could be lodged by the clubs,” he added.
One of the biggest transfers to be affected by this decision will be Portuguese midfielder Hugo Viana, whose move from Al Ahli to Al Wasl is now on hold.
Al Wasl coach Gabriel Calderon had previously been philosophical on the disruption.
“This is a problem because he’s a key player,” he said. “If Fifa decide no, then it’s not good for Al Wasl but we must accept it.”
Elsewhere, the UAE have confirmed a friendly against Lebanon to be played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 11, as part of the squad’s ongoing preparations for the Gulf Cup, in the Saudi capital from November 13 to 26.
