A major event in Ethiopian football this week took a twist as a looming legal battle between the Ethiopian Premier League and penalized clubs continues to gain speed.
The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) Appeal Committee has suspended the decision taken by the league earlier this week regarding four clubs and seven players who were issued heavy fines related to recently implemented financial regulations, stating the case needs more time to be further examined.
On Monday, the league took the bold decision to penalize top flight clubs Mechal, Sidama Coffee, Mekele 70 Enderta, Hawassa Ketema as well as fifteen players for failing to abide by financial regulations related to secret down payments issued to the players. Each club were penalized 24,100 USD while Mechal and Sidama Coffee received a transfer ban due to mulitple infractions related to down payments given to players to avoid sanctions for salary cap violations.
The Appeal Committee received complaints from the clubs and seven players on Wednesday. Six of the seven players play for Sidama while one player is from Hawassa. The committee disclosed that Yared Baye, Habtamu Tadesse, Desta Demu, Samuel Saliso, Mesfin Tafesse, Firalo Mengistu and Israel Eshetu appealed the decision of the league.
According to the committee, the case needs a through investigation to deliver proper justice. The decision taken by the league will be put on hold for now as the appeal committee commences work to look deep into the case.
The committee has ordered the league to bring documents that were used to decide on the fate of the clubs, igniting a legal battle that could potentially take months to settle.
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