Carlos Munoz could be forced to spend the next six months on the sidelines after being replaced by South Korean Kwon Kyung-won at defending Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ahli.
Munoz, 25, made four appearances for Baniyas at the start of the season before his move to the defending league champions minutes before the close of the summer transfer window.
As per Fifa rules, a player can represent a maximum of two clubs in one season, which means Munoz’s season is over unless he moves back to Baniyas in another late transfer.
As per Article 5, Paragraph 3 of Fifa’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players: “Players may be registered with a maximum of three clubs during one season. During this period, the player is only eligible to play official matches for two clubs. As an exception to this rule, a player moving between two clubs belonging to associations with overlapping seasons (i.e. start of the season in summer/autumn as opposed to winter/spring) may be eligible to play in official matches for a third club during the relevant season, provided he has fully complied with his contractual obligations towards his previous clubs.”
Initial reports had suggested the 23-year-old Kwon, who has come on a three-year deal from Jeonbuk Hyundai, could replace Ahli’s Asian player, former Chile international Luis Jimenez, but coach Cosmin Olaroiu was apparently not too keen to see him being left out.
“Jimenez is still an Ahli player and we are still debating who Kyung-won will replace,” Olaroiu said at a press conference on Wednesday. “We will see what is best for us.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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