Emmanuel Clottey
Ghana forward Emmanuel Clottey has been ordered to pay Tunisia giants Esperance a $180 000 for unilaterally terminating his contract.
The Fifa Dispute Resolution Chamber after many months has finally ruled on an employment dispute which had the Esperance Legal Committee file a wrongful contract termination protest against the Ghanaian striker.
Esperance signed the 27-year-old from Berekum Chelsea for $1.5 million in September 2012 for a three-year period but he struggled for regular playing time.
Clottey was later loaned out to UAE side Al Dhafra in the summer of 2013 where he had the deal terminated after six months.
He was expected to revert to Esperance to continue his contract (which would have ended by September 2015) but that did not happen and the club reported his conduct to Fifa.
The player claimed he was left to his own fate by Esperance after Dhafra terminated his contract and had to personally take care of his return ticket. The striker also cited total neglect by the club with his privileges and entitlements as an employee cut short.
Clottey remained in Ghana for some months and had been in a tussle with the North African giants at Fifa over contract breaches before he was contacted by Ghanaian champions Asante Kotoko for a possible deal.
After successful negotiations, the Porcupine Warriors, through the Ghana FA, wrote to request for Clottey’s ITC but Esperance failed to respond. The stipulated 15 days for which the clearance was expected elapsed and in February this year the Ghana FA had to issue him a provisional certificate for him to resuscitate his career at Kotoko.
The player signed a three-year deal with Kotoko and went on to feature in two league games – against WAFA and Berekum Chelsea before a notice was served on the Ghana FA to stop using the player by the Ghanaian giants until the matter was resolved.
Clottey was banned by the Ghana FA six years ago – July 2009 – in almost similar circumstances – breach of player transfer regulations at the time.