|
Calcutta: Australian forward Tolgay Ozebe, on Monday, finally became a free player after paying a fine of Rs 10,28,982.70 to East Bengal imposed by the Indian Football Association (IFA). Ozebe also apologised to his former club. Tolgay was found guilty of professional misconduct by the IFA.
Tolgay will have to pay a further fine of Rs 5 lakh to the IFA and will register for Bagan on Tuesday itself.
East Bengal secretary Kalyan Majumdar handed over the token to the Australian after a one-hour meeting at the club tent on Monday.
“He is now a free player. He apologised. It’s a victory for us. After all this, I’m sure he now realises what’s right and what’s wrong,” Majumdar said.
“The incident went on for over three months and everyone had been eagerly waiting for the outcome. I sat down with the East Bengal officials and we have sorted out the issue. I think this was the best way, took just five minutes. I am happy that everything ended on good terms,” said Tolgay. “I thank the East Bengal club officials for the two precious seasons I spent here.”
In a fine gesture, East Bengal donated the amount to IFA for development of nursery football.
| 
