KUALA LUMPUR: Former Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) forward, Jorge Pereyra Diaz will not be able to join any other club without his International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
Action Football Asia (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd managing director Effendi Jagan Abdullah explained that the ITC can only be obtained after all the necessary documentation which include a copy of the passport, both the new and old contracts as well as the release letter from the previous team are submitted to the Transfer Matching System (TMS).
“He (Diaz) can go to another team for now, but when it comes to obtaining his ITC he will face problems if the required documents needed are incomplete or insufficient for submission to TMS.
“The ITC can only be obtained through TMS, all of which is done online, so it cannot be manipulated or doctored,” he said when contacted earlier today.
JDT technical director and former player Alistair Edwards in a statement released yesterday (Tuesday) explained that Diaz, who was JDT’s top scorer for the 2016 Super League season, left the team hotel at approximately midnight on Sunday in Singapore before the team left for Vietnam for their AFC Cup match against Song Lam Nghe An.
After that, JDT owner and FA of Malaysia (FAM) president, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim via a video explained that such a fiasco has happened because of interference from the team’s fitness coach Fernando Gonzalez.
With regards to what has transpired, Effendi pointed out that JDT can take action against Diaz because the player left the team in acrimonious circumstances.
“If it true that Diaz ran away, then the club can take action against him because he has breached his contract and JDT can demand for compensation.
“If at all the player does not pay compensation to the club, then the club can hold on to the player’s documents and prevent him from obtaining his ITC, which means he will not be able to play for any other team or club.
“However the club need good, strong, valid reasons for doing so and to take up a case with world governing football body Fifa,” he said.
There was also speculation that Diaz would probably be on the radar of Indonesian club, Persib Bandung which is handled by former JDT coach, Mario Gomez.
Other than this, Effendi also sees Tunku Ismail’s decision to release Diaz as a wise one because the club does not need to keep players who do not have the heart to turn out and play for the team.
“Players cannot act or behave in such a manner and as Tunku Ismail said, no player is bigger than the club. So Tunku Ismail’s actions are very wise, regardless if the player is a star.
“For me, players must discuss matter with team management first before acting and always respect the club. If he has left the club just like that, the club is the victim as how are to club going to replace the player when the transfer window has closed,” added Effendi.