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The herald
Eddie Chikamhi Senior sports reporter
The Premiership giants, Dynamos, can only get worse. The ghost of Christian Joel Epoupa, who left them in acrimonious conditions earlier this year, came back to haunt them after FIFA ordered DeMbare to pay close to $ 17,000 to the Cameroon striker.
FIFA also warned Dynamos against new sanctions in case of non payment of $ 16,755 to Epoupa within one month.
Dynamos grabbed the spotlight for the wrong reasons early in the 2018 season, when Epoupa left them citing constant breaches of the club's contract.
Although he first returned to Cameroon, his home country, before settling in Botswana, Epoupa did not let Dynamos run away without paying him following a labor dispute. which lasted several months and which, at a given moment, even seduced the sponsors of the giants of Harare. – NetOne – as they tried to mediate and resolve the fallout.
Instead, he took his case to FIFA with the help of the Union of Zimbabwe Footballers, where he won his case.
Epoupa, who had a fairy tale season with the Glamor Boys, won the club's Golden Boot and a runner-up finish at Castle Lager Soccer Stars, claimed $ 18,055 for his outstanding salaries.
The big striker, who has even defended the interests of SuperSport United and Bidvest Wits, has accused the authorities of Dynamos of breaking the contract after failing to pay signing fees, salaries and other benefits agreed.
Epoupa signed a two-year contract with Dynamos in early 2017, but only served one year before the end of the relationship. He has since ended his relationship with the Glamor Boys and moved to Botswana to join the modest Orapa United. His case, however, was presented to the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber on 15 November, chaired by the British Geoff Thompson and composed of Johan van Gaalen (South Africa) and Belgium's Wouter Lambretch.
The trio expressed its determination in favor of the player after maintaining the request of Epoupa and gave Dynamos 30 days to pay his contributions in hard currency.
The Dynamos also risk being dragged before the FIFA Disciplinary Committee if they fail to pay the fees on time and face a heavy penalty.
FIFA has always been strict with clubs that give up players' contracts. The giants of Bulawayo, Highlanders, have already been taken to the World Football Administration Board by Zambian Kelvin Kaindu, who was their player before he came back later to coach them.
"1. The claim of the claimant, Christian Joel Ntouba Epoupa, is partially accepted.
"2. The defendant, Dynamos Football Club, shall pay the claimant, within 30 days from the date of notification of this decision, an extraordinary remuneration of USD 16,755, plus interest at a rate of 5% per annum. until the date of the actual payment. . .
"3. The defendant must pay to the plaintiff, within 30 days from the date of notification of this decision, an indemnity for breach of contract in the amount of 4,875 USD plus 5% interest pa from 16 April 2018 until the date of the actual payment.
"4. If the amounts plus the interest due to the plaintiff in accordance with points 2 and 3 above are not paid by the defendant within the prescribed time, the present case will be submitted, upon request, to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. for examination and formal decision.
"6. The plaintiff is ordered to immediately and directly inform the defendant of the account number on which the payment is to be made and to inform the Dispute Settlement Chamber of each payment received, "reads in part. judgment.
The Dynamos have 10 days to ask for the reasons for the decision to allow them to appeal the judgment. But they are not likely to follow the path, because the appeals can be formed only through the Court of Arbitration for Sport at a cost more "prohibitive".
When Epoupa joined Dynamos in early 2017, they agreed on a $ 10,000 registration fee for the player's first year and an additional $ 12,000 for the second year.
The 25-year-old striker was also entitled to a monthly salary of $ 1,500, a food allowance of $ 100 a month, a transportation allowance of $ 25 and a bonus of $ 20 for each goal scored.
Dynamos also pledged to reimburse his plane tickets to and from Cameroon. But after only one year of contract, problems have appeared between the club and the player.
In its FUZ FIFA filings with FIFA, Epoupa claimed that Dynamos repeatedly breached its contractual obligations.
In addition to not paying the registration fees, wages and other fees, the Cameroonian was not happy that the club also failed to obtain his expired work permit and was unable to pay his health insurance as stipulated in the contract.
Dynamos also owed him the reimbursement of his plane tickets. He also had problems with his accommodations and was also pushed to reconsider his opportunities as he was not registered for the season.
For their part, Dynamos made efforts to reduce backlogs, but disagreements arose over payment methods.
The Cameroonian was unhappy that the money came in small installments and he also complained to the leaders of Glamor Boys of his inability to get his money from the local banks.
Epoupa asked Dynamos to deposit his contributions into a visa bank account at a Harare bank, which would also allow him to withdraw money and send money in US dollars to his bank. family in Cameroon.
Dynamos, then under Kenny Mubaiwa's direction, argued, however, that the severe shortage of foreign currency in the country made it difficult to pay for Epoupa and instead suggested a platform provided by their sponsors, the One Wallet account, which the player, however rejected.
The DeMbare leaders were not immediately available to comment on the issue, but FUZ President Desmond Maringwa said local clubs should learn from the latest episode involving FIFA, a player and a club.
"If they want to appeal, they can still do it via the SCS, but it's a little pricey.
"It's a lesson for our clubs: they must always conduct their business properly, especially when dealing with foreign players.
"It's very sad to get here. We tried to appeal to Dynamos when the case came to us, but the club felt that it did not want the case settled out of court.
"It's depressing given the club's critical situation, but we also had to defend the rights of the player. The worst thing is that they could be dragged before the Discipline Committee if they did not respect the DRC decision and the consequences could be disastrous, "warned Maringwa.
What is more worrying for the Dynamos and their many supporters is that their club could still be relegated if they ignored the directive to pay Epoupa, the tradition having shown that FIFA also resorted to the deduction of points in the sanctions for non-compliance.
If the Dynamos ignore the order given by the DRC and the case is brought before the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, more drastic decisions will be taken, including the possible relegation of the club to the lower divisions.
The South African club AmaZulu almost fell under the same sword this year in its dispute with Namibian player Phinheas Nambandi, who reported the club to the CAS through the South Africa Footballer Players Union, citing a break in contract.
Nambandi brought AmaZulu to FIFA in July 2014 after the club's cancellation, which still had three years to run.
At that time he claimed 300,000 rand, but that figure has since reached 1,086,000 rand due to interest.
AmaZulu was suspended six points after ignoring the decisions of the world body and faced real threats of relegation, which forced them to pay the huge bill last month under duress.
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