By Kei Emmanuel Duku
Yei Joint Stars FC faces the mercy of South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) as Munuki FC has submitted a complaint letter, accusing the Sunday victors of fielding unregistered players.
After a shocking exit from South Sudan Women’s Cup on Sunday evening at the hands of Yei Joint Stars women’s team, Munuki FC opts legal battle before the football governing body.
According to a petition seen by this outlet, Munuki FC (W) noted that a player named Ariye Mercy is a Ugandan by nationality and is an active player of “SHE Maroons FC” in Uganda Women’s Super League, a competition organized by the Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA).
“She was illegally registered with Yei Joint Stars in violation of Article 50, which prevents the transfer of a player who was previously registered with another association in another country without a club letter of approval and the International Transfer Certificate (ITC) from the Federation or association the particular player is registered with,” reads the petition.
An International Transfer Certificate (ITC) is a document issued by the Federation of International Football Associations to a member association permitting a player to move from one association to another.
While presenting their evidence against Yei Joint Stars, Munuki FC alleges that Ariye, after registering with “SHE Maroons FC” in Uganda, was issued with a FIFA Identity Card bearing her full name as Ariye Mercy Consolate with registration number “FIFA ID 1507JM9” and had never exhausted all the transfer procedures to Yei Joint Stars via the SSFA, where ITC should have been issued.
According to fixtures, Yei Joint Stars was supposed to play against Al-Wehida FC women yesterday in the semi-final in zone B; however, with the petition filed by Munuki FC, the organizers have decided to postpone the match, saying they need more time to investigate the case.
“SSFA is committed to ensuring fair play and integrity in all its competitions and is conducting a thorough investigation into the matter. Updates on the rescheduled game will be provided in due course,” reads a statement on the SSFA social media page.
If found guilty by the organizing committee, Sunday’s victory against the “Snakes” will be forfeited by 2:0 on aggregate, and it will mean Munuki FC progresses to the semi-finals of the third edition of the Women’s South Sudan Cup, and they will play Al-Wehida FC on a day to be communicated by the organizers.
This is the second time in a space of less than a week after SSFA overturned Yei Joint Stars’ 5:0 victory over Bentiu City SC in the opening fixtures of the South Sudan Women before winning the return league 7:0 to pair Munuki FC in the second round of the competition.
In the petition, Bentiu City SC accused Yei Joint Stars of using Ambayo Immaculate, a player registered by Scared Heart Ladies FC in Uganda, prompting the organizers to award 3 points and 2 goals to Bentiu City SC.