Heartland face two-window transfer ban if they fail to pay former players
Heartland face a ban from the transfer market for the next two windows if they do not pay former players Maduabuchi Okereke and Fatunwase Olusegun a total of N16.65m.
In separate petitions lodged with the LMC, Okereke and Olusegun — who both joined Heartland in November 2018 on three-year deals — claimed that their contracts with The Naze Millionaires were wrongfully annulled.
The pair also alledged that they were being owed a total of N10,400,000 and N6,250,000 in salaries respectively, following the unlawful contract cancellations.
Having failed to respond to the LMC’s inquiry on the matter, the league body on February 17 found the Owerri club guilty of breaching Rule B9.45.4, and ruled that Heartland must pay Okereke the sum of N7,200,000, representing the total salaries of the last two years of his three-year contract; and an additional N900,000, being “unpaid arrears of three months consolidated salary stipulated in the contract before it was wrongfully terminated by the club”.
Olusegun, on the other hand, has been awarded the sum of N4,800,000, being the total salaries of the last two years of his three-year contract; and a further N600,000 in unpaid three-month consolidated salary arrears as spelt out in his contract.
The LMC also placed a two-window transfer embargo on the club, but added that the ban will be lifted “immediately” Heartland show proof of payment to the duo.
However, if they fail to fulfill the condition within the two-window transfer period, the LMC said: “The matter shall be duly reviewed.”
“If at the end of the period of the ban, the sums mentioned in 19a and 19b above are not paid, the matter shall be duly reviewed.”