Appealed to FIFA, asserting that the club had no wrongdoing.

Martin Dzilah faces Viet Anh in round 2 of V-League 2023 - 2024

In October 2023, striker Martin Dzilah joined HAGL Club to replace the aging striker Washington Brandao. But after round 3 of V-League 2023 - 2024, he unfortunately suffered a knee ligament injury.

After consulting with the doctor and assessing that he would not recover in time for the return leg, HAGL and Martin agreed that the club would pay his entire salary until the end of the season, worth 20,000 USD (about 500,000 million VND) to terminate the contract early.

However, the Nigerian player later sued FIFA for not receiving the money. On June 28, FIFA requested the parties involved to provide supporting documents through the legal portal on the organization's website before July 18 to resolve the dispute.

A portion of the liquidation papers signed by Martin

On August 30, FIFA ruled that HAGL lost the lawsuit, requiring the team of young talent Tran Gia Bao to pay 29,000 USD (about 715 million VND) with interest to Martin Dzilah, with an ultimatum that if they did not do so, they would be banned from transferring.

This is not the first time Vietnamese clubs have faced this risk. Most recently, Khanh Hoa Club was even banned from transferring players by FIFA, but the penalty was only lifted when it fully paid the overdue amount for striker Mamadou Guirassy.

Returning to Pleiku, the representative of HAGL Club said that they had filed an appeal to FIFA, affirming that they had paid the entire amount of 20,000 USD to Martin in cash (along with bank transfer), which is one of the two legal methods in Vietnam.

At the same time, HAGL also confirmed that it has full evidence of the receipt of money and the liquidation papers written in both Vietnamese and English, signed by Martin and sent to FIFA for consideration.

Evidence of Martin happily holding the receipt of money and taking a photo with the leaders of HAGL Club

HAGL Club CEO Nguyen Tan Anh said: “Martin Dzilah left HAGL Club at the same time as striker Jhon Clay. Martin received the money, signed a receipt of 20,000 USD, and happily took a souvenir photo with the receipt and the liquidation paper clearly stating the content in both English and Vietnamese.

During the past time, the club's email and communication system did not receive any relevant information until VFF received the decision of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Committee, requiring HAGL to return Martin the amount of 29,000 USD within 45 days from the date of receiving the decision for improperly terminating the player's contract.

HAGL reported to VFF that they had paid the player in full, in the spirit of unity, consensus, and agreed to sign the contract termination document. Martin claimed that HAGL Club did not transfer money to him.

While we sent cash, it is legal in Vietnam. If HAGL Club has any wrongdoings, we will take responsibility. We have sent all the evidence to VFF, requesting FIFA to reconsider its decision."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vu-hagl-bi-kien-da-khang-cao-len-fifa-khang-dinh-clb-khong-co-hanh-vi-sai-185240918201832135.htm