Punjab FC have been handed a three-window transfer ban by Fifa’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) for failing to pay North Macedonian footballer Hristijan Denkovski in August last year when Ranjit Bajaj was still an active decision-maker at the club.
The ban on signing any player is from the upcoming summer transfer window. The ban will be lifted once the payment is made and the proof of payment is sent to Fifa.
Fifa’s head of players’ status Erika Montemor Ferreira said that a judgement was passed in favour of Denkovski on February 13 and the club was instructed by Fifa’s DRC to pay the compensation amount of $18,000 to the player within 45 days.
Punjab failed to honour the obligation within March 31, 2020 and as a result, the transfer ban was imposed by the DRC and now the club has been instructed to clear the player’s dues at the earliest.
As per the contract, Denkovski was supposed to earn $2,000 per month and the final colony amount was decided at $18,000 with a five per cent interest per annum on the amount as of August 29, 2019.
Denkovski had put pen to paper on a one-year deal with then Minerva Punjab on July 5, 2019. The contract was from September 1, 2019, until May 31, 2020.
Despite the footballer submitting his proof of no Third Party Ownership (TPO) to the club on July 30, then Minerva Punjab informed Denkovski on August 6 that the contract had been terminated and declared null and void due to their change in ownership.