Calcutta: East Bengal were dealt a body blow on Saturday.

The players status committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) imposed a transfer ban on the club over irregularities in their attempts to sign defender Sukhdev Singh from I-League champions Minerva Punjab FC.

The committee found East Bengal guilty of breaching the terms of Sukhdev's then subsisting contract with Minerva.

As a result, East Bengal cannot register any new player until the expiry of the second transfer window of the 2018-19 season, which is scheduled for January 1 to 31 next year.

"As a result of the same, this committee has imposed upon East Bengal a complete prohibition on registering new players until the expiry of the second transfer window following the date from which the breach became effective," the committee said.

Sukhdev, who now plies his trade for Mohun Bagan, has also been barred from playing any competitive match for four months and must pay a fine of Rs 50,000 to the AIFF and a compensation of the same amount to Minerva Punjab, according to sources.

East Bengal's two new signings Borja Gomes Perez and Enrique Esqueda will have no problem donning the club jersey since they are already registered, but it is very unlikely that Katsumi Yusa would be seen in the red and gold colours since he is not registered yet.

Both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are likely to appeal, the latter to get clearance for Sukhdev to play. "We will go through the regulatory procedures. There is an appeal process in the system. We will discuss internally what needs to be done and will act accordingly," East Bengal CEO Sanjit Sen said.

Minerva Punjab's top official Ranjit Bajaj welcomed the decision and urged the football fraternity in the country to stick to professional ethics.

"We feel vindicated. It is important for clubs and players to respect and honour contracts and Fifa/AIFF regulations... It's high time we all got professional. This judgement will serve as an example to all clubs, players and agents who take contracts lightly and think that they are above the rules," Bajaj said.

An official close to the development said: "Minerva got in touch with Alvito D'Cunha (a member of East Bengal's technical committee), who generally negotiates all the transfer dealings for the club.

"Minerva were ready to let Sukhdev go but wanted them to follow the protocol. To that, Alvito replied via Whatsapp that he won't negotiate with Minerva despite the Fifa rules saying so and will go ahead and sign Sukhdev."