TP Mazembe claim that their former player Ben Malango has been sanctioned for his acrimonious move to Moroccan side Raja Casablanca.
The timing of this news is interesting as it comes less than 24 hours before Malongo leads Raja against his former side in a CAF Champions League quarterfinal return leg in Lubumbashi.
TP Mazembe's general manager Frederic Kitengie tweeted that FIFA has indeed confirmed that Malongo contravened it's regulations as he forced the move to the Moroccan club.
TPM: Condamnation confirmée pour le Raja et Malango par la FIFA dans la reconnaissance du contrat et la condamnation du Raja et du joueur pour avec violé (i) pour le joueur son contrat et (ii) pour le Raja les règlements de la fifa.
— Frederic Kitengie (@KifreFrederic) March 5, 2020
"Confirmation confirmed for Raja and Malango by FIFA in recognition of the contract and the conviction of Raja and the player for violating (i) for the player his contract and (ii) for Raja the regulations of Fifa ", he tweeted.
The same message was also posted on the club's official Facebook account.
FIFA is yet to issue any official communication over this case.
TP Mazembe face an uphill task as they try to overturn the two-goal deficit after suffering a 2-0 loss in Casablanca a week ago. The club president Moise Katumbi has vowed that his charges will stage a miraculous comeback to progress to the last four.
Editor's Note
Futaa learnt that FIFA has indeed sanctioned Raja and ordered it to TM Mazembe $296,966. The Congolese had demanded $ 5,000,000, a 6-month suspension for the player and a Raja recruitment ban. All these requests are rejected by FIFA.