Former Cádiz CF president Quique Pina has claimed he warned the club against signing Mamadou Mbaye as he knew the player had an agreement with Watford.
The Spanish club was recently banned for two transfer windows by FIFA after Watford filed a complaint against them following Mbaye’s move to the club.
The Hornets’ complaint was upheld, with the governing body not only banning Cádiz but also issuing a four-month ban to Mbaye, who also has to pay compensation to Watford.
Both Mbaye and Cádiz have hit out at the sanction, with the player insisting he never had any contract with Watford and any documents that state he did have been falsified, evidence of which he has provided to FIFA.
The case is now going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who will have to decide whether FIFA’s ruling and subsequent punishments are upheld.
In the meantime, Mbaye and Cádiz are proclaiming innocence, although Pina claims he warned the club against the move.
“I warned an important person at the club to tell him that he had a contract with Watford because he signed for three years,” he told Canal Amarillo.
“They tell me it’s the president’s decision, that he got the transfer through Croatia. But that’s a clerical error.
“When Watford sees him, he tells Vizcaino (Cádiz president Manuel Vizcaíno) that he has a contract, but he refuses to make any kind of deal.
“So Watford denounces him. And now, with the Fifa sanctioning him, I think he can’t be taken away.
“To top it all off, he tells Watford’s chosen lawyer that he will win the two lawsuits he has with them. What a way to provoke them.
“I have a relationship with Gino Pozzo, we’ve done business together, but who am I to tell him not to report Cadiz, because I am a shareholder?
“It doesn’t even occur to me, this is football and it’s business, and they defend their rights.”
