DUBAI // Al Wasl have labelled the Football Association’s ruling to prohibit the registration of Hugo Viana an “injustice” and are preparing to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn it.
The FA decided this week to prevent the late enrolment of five players who were signed by clubs after the transfer window’s official deadline, which closed midnight on October 2.
Those affected are Viana, who moved from champions Al Ahli, Mohammed Nasser and Saeed Suroor at Baniyas, Fujairah’s Ahmed Ibrahim, and Ahmed Jumaa at Al Shaab, the Division One side.
Despite the clubs’ failure to meet the initial deadline, the FA’s Commission on the Status and Transfer of Players autonomously granted a two-hour extension, which the governing body later rescinded. Nasser Al Yamahi, the commission’s chairman, has since resigned.
The confusion prompted the FA to seek Fifa’s advice, although world football’s governing body deemed it an internal FA matter.
A vote for an extension to the transfer window – to allow the registration of the five players – was held last week among the 14 top-flight clubs. Two objected, which upheld the FA’s original stance.
Wasl have threatened to take the case to CAS, the Switzerland-based final arbiter of sports disputes, and are waiting for a response from Yousuf Al Serkal, the FA president.
Should Al Serkal sign the tendered proposal, the issue will be reviewed internally during a seven-day period. Wasl then have 21 days to appeal to CAS.
The Dubai club’s frustration is accentuated by the fact they field only three foreign players, instead of the allotted four, since they released Brazilian Neto Berola in anticipation of the Viana deal being processed.
Should Viana not be made available, Wasl hope to be able to again play Berola.
Wasl accept their late move for Viana was regrettable, citing the complicated nature of a trio of interconnected transfers involving Nasser, the Wasl striker, moving to Baniyas and Carlos Munoz switching from the Abu Dhabi club to Ahli.
“Some media have said the club are responsible and that is simply not true,” said Mohammed Al Amri, a Wasl board member.
“We did everything by the book. Right now, the FA’s decision making is very slow, so we’re playing matches with three foreign players, which is unacceptable.
“The FA’s main principle is equality for all clubs, but it’s not equal rights. With all respect, this is an injustice for Al Wasl. The FA said the players shouldn’t participate with their teams, but they don’t have the right to say that.
“The FA are responsible for the registration, but we’re the ones who sign the contracts with the players. It is the club’s decision to change our player.”
Wasl’s main grievance is that the FA rejected the player transfer commission’s extension. The club contest that, under Chapter 7 of the commission’s rules and regulations, the chairman has the right to adjust the deadline without seeking endorsement from the FA general secretary.
Effectively, it means Viana’s registration should have been pushed through.
Wasl have told the FA that they are willing to go to CAS and are confident the issue will be resolved in their favour. They would not speculate on how long their case will run.
“We don’t know anything about any solutions or proposals, but we’re maybe talking about compensation, and will go through legal channels to get it,” Al Amri said. “The FA have their consultant and we will have ours. Our right is strong legally, so we don’t have anything to fear. We have all the correct documents.
“We’re going to CAS and waiting for their opinion. We’ve suffered financial damage, technical damage and damage to our fans also. Maybe the FA say they made a mistake, but now they can register the player and give us his card. We don’t know what they’re waiting for – for the club to lose more games or for the fans to turn again.”
Al Amri suggested Wasl’s unhappiness reflects deeper problems in the FA.
“Too many clubs are not satisfied with the FA, not only Al Wasl,” he said. “There are too many problems, too many mistakes, but now is not the time. We must support our national team at the Gulf Cup and then, after, we can talk about these issues in our general assembly.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
TIMELINE
October 2/3
9:30pm – Mohammed Nasser’s transfer to Baniyas is back on. The Wasl striker had been negotiating with the Abu Dhabi club that afternoon, following initial discussions three weeks previously, but Baniyas spend the next few hours trying without success to contact the player and his agent.
10:57pm – Wasl send fax to FA requesting to release Neto Berola and swap him with Hugo Viana.
11:30pm – Viana arrives at Wasl, together with his agent, and the two parties thrash out the details of a one-year deal.
11:56pm – Al Ahli officially contract Carlos Munoz, although they do not release Viana until 12:05am.
11:57pm – Viana signs contract. Wasl then discover, through a member of the FA speaking on television, that the midfielder was still not registered.
01:29am – Having for some time tried to register through the FA’s official transfer system – the system was closed from 12am – Wasl receive email from the FA’s IT department informing them of an extension to the deadline, ratified by the transfer commission. The window would now close at 2am.
October 5
Wasl receive message from FA requesting they do not play Viana until the governing body confirm his registration. Angered, Wasl respond to the FA to ask to make Viana available for selection. Wasl repeat the request on October 8 and 10.
October 21
Having sought Fifa’s advice, the FA receive a reply for football’s governing body saying the matter should be dealt with eternally.
October 26
FA prohibit the late registration of five players: Viana, Nasser, Saeed Suroor (Baniyas), Ahmed Ibrahim (Fujairah) and Ahmed Jumaa (Al Shaab), after two of the 14 Arabian Gulf League clubs vote against an extension. The decision means the players cannot be made available until the next transfer window opens in January.
October 29
Wasl approach the FA to formally notify the governing body of their wish to take the case to CAS. They request the FA respond within 24 hours.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at SprtNationalUAE
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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