Panaji: India defender Anwar Ali has told the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that he is not comfortable with a long-term loan with Mohun Bagan Super Giant and has unilaterally terminated the contract to seek a permanent transfer.
Originally a Delhi FC player, Anwar joined Bagan last season and is on loan to the Kolkata giants till May 31, 2027, as per an agreement signed between the two clubs on Jan 12, 2023.The four-year contract kicked off on June 1 last year. It is the second loan agreement for the Delhi FC player after he spent 18 months at FC Goa since getting the green signal to play competitive football after a rare heart issue threatened to put an early full stop on his promising career.
On July 8, the 23-year defender, among India’s best at the moment, left Bagan stunned when he issued a notice of termination to the Indian Super League (ISL) champions, specifically citing Article 10.1.d of FIFA’s new regulations on the status and transfer of players (RSTP) that “a loan agreement may be concluded for a minimum duration of the time between two registration periods and a maximum duration of one year.”
“As per the above regulations, any contract and agreement regarding my loan transfer for a period longer than one year stands invalid. It is also pertinent to note that the loan agreement does not contain a termination clause which in itself makes the agreement invalid,” said Anwar.
Significantly, the AIFF has not yet implemented the new rules. The federation has time till June 2025 to adopt the changes, and, at least for now, are counting on its own RSTP for domestic players.
In his email to the AIFF’s player registrations department on Wednesday (July 10), Anwar requested the federation to transfer his registration back to Delhi FC “with immediate effect so that they are able to remunerate me under my original contract.”
“At this stage in my career, I am not comfortable being a professional on loan for such a long period as it is hampering my career prospects,” Anwar wrote in an email to the AIFF’s registrations department on Wednesday. “Therefore, I have asked Delhi FC to reintegrate me and discuss my permanent transfer options within this transfer window so that I do not lose out on any opportunity to earn my livelihood to the best of my capabilities.”
Bagan were taken aback by the termination notice and instead responded by telling the defender that he should join training on July 19 when the senior team is expected to start preparations for the season ahead.
Anwar responded on July 10 telling the club that he is “open to discussing a permanent transfer to Bagan,” and that he has not signed with any other club. “I would prefer signing for Bagan rather than moving to another club, provided I am happy with the terms of the contract offered to me.”
With Bagan unwilling to get into negotiations for a permanent transfer since three years are still left on the original loan agreement, Anwar is understood to have agreed terms with rivals East Bengal. The move is subject to the player winning his unilateral termination battle with Bagan and returning to Delhi FC.
The AIFF will now refer the dispute to its player status committee.
Anwar Ali has served a termination notice to Mohun Bagan with whom he’s contracted till 2027
