Football: India defender Anwar Ali suspended for four months for ‘illegal termination of contract’

Indian defender Anwar Ali has been suspended from all competition by the All India Football Federation for four months after being found “guilty” of illegally terminating his contract with Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan Super Giant.

The AIFF’s Player Status Committee, that meted out the decision on Tuesday, also announced that Mohun Bagan has been awarded a compensation of Rs 12.9 crore which will be paid jointly by Ali along with his parent club Delhi FC (who had loaned out Ali to Mohun Bagan until 2027) and East Bengal FC, with whom Ali had signed a five-year deal.

According to reports, the compensation includes Rs 8.40 crore which is the residual value of the contract, Rs 2 crore already paid to Delhi FC as per the loan agreement, and Rs 2.50 crore for other “damages suffered by the club.”

Furthermore, the Player Status Committee has banned both East Bengal and Delhi FC from participating in two transfer windows – 2024-25 winter and 2025-26 summer – which includes registering players for the transfer period.

The entire issue started when the 24-year-old defender wanted to terminate his contract with Mohun Bagan and move to their city rivals East Bengal in July. However, the 2024 ISL Shield winners claimed this transfer was illegal and filed a complaint with the Player Status Committee.

The Committee then found the loan contract termination “without a just cause,” but cleared the player to sign with another club, hence allowing East Bengal to confirm the five-year contract with Ali in August.

Article 15 of AIFF’s Regulation for Status and Transfer of Players highlights that any contract between a professional player and a club may be terminated only upon expiry of the contract, which did not happen, or upon mutual agreement, which Mohun Bagan claimed did not happen.

While Ali has the chance to appeal to the AIFF Appeal Committee, the defender has to submit his appeal in writing within three days of notification of the sanction.

Furthermore, Ali along with East Bengal and Delhi FC have 45 days after the notification of the decision to make the payment to Mohun Bagan. If they all fail to do so, the ban on transfers for both clubs can extend to the next three transfer windows while Ali’s suspension can be increased to six months.

Ali had previously been banned by the AIFF from playing due to an existing heart condition that he discovered he suffered from in 2019. However, the player was then cleared to play professional football in 2021 and resumed his career with FC Goa.