Ex-Ashgold star to get $39,800 compensation from Iraqi side

Former Ashgold star, Habib Mulla Mohammed, would benefit from a $39,800 compensation package from Iraqi club, Al Talaba, after FIFA ordered the club to pay the player for breach of contract.

He becomes the second Ghanaian player within a week, to benefit from similar directives following FIFA's earlier order to Egyptian side, Zamalek, to pay another Ghanaian star and ex-Hearts of Oak defender, Karim Alhassan, over $1.2m for breach of contract last week.

The representative of the player, Ashford Tettey Oku, who confirmed this to the Graphic Sports over the weekend  said the decision was arrived at after the Iraqi club had persistently flouted the law to pay Mohammed, who won a case against the club last year.

He said following that, they decided to file an application to the Disciplinary Committee of FIFA for the invocation of Article 64 of their disciplinary code to force the club to comply with the order.

He explained that the 32-year old left-back, also an ex-player of Egyptian side Smouha, won his case against his Iraqi club last year but Al Talaba ignored directives from the world governing body to settle the financial compensation to the defender.

Consequently, FIFA ordered an additional $4,800 as interest accrued on the $35,000 fine that was earlier imposed on the club and warned that they risked deduction of points and further relegation if they reneged on settling the Tamale-born player within 60 days.

The panel, which was made up of Claudio Sueser of Switzerland, Kia Tong Lim of Singapore, Mike Edward of USA, and Lord Veehal of Tonga Island,  upheld the application and directed the Iraqi side to settle the payment to the player plus 1000 and 300 Swiss franc for delayed payment and cost of proceedings respectively.