Sina move to Police cleared as Rayon, FA are put on spot

HE MAY have played a part in champions Rayon Sports’ success last season but Jerome Sina denies he was officially part of the Blues dressing room. He insists his services were on part-time basis. And, other than a copy of the contract (provided by Rayon) that bears a signature he claims is not his, no other proof. But most importantly, Ferwafa cannot ascertain the kind of relationship that existed between Sina and Rayon since 2009 through 2012. Noticeably, when he joined Rayon he was coming from DR Congo, meaning he needed an International Transfer Certificate as prescribed by Fifa rules. ITCs were Fifa-recognised documents issued by the FA in the country of the selling club. Fifa has since changed the process of sanctioning international transfers, replacing the more manual ITC system with the online based Transfer Matching System (TMS) which only requires the two concerned federations to enter data in the system. But for Sina’s case, no ITC was issued when he moved from DC Virunga to Rayon Sports. At the time, Ferwafa gave him a license to play in Rwanda even when it was clear that Rayon had not gone through the proper channels to sign Sina. He went on to sign a two-year contract with Rayon which was extended in 2011. During the same period, Sina also featured for the senior national football team, the Amavubi. Null and void Rayon maintain that Sina went AWOL in October 2012 with six months still on his contract but the player insists the terms under which he played for the Blues were not based on proper transfer documents, which makes them null and void. On Tuesday, during a meeting convened by Ferwafa, and attended by Sina, as well as representatives of Rayon and Police FC – who signed the player this month, sparking protests from the Blues – the football administrators could not get the parties to reach consensus. Nonetheless, Ferwafa ruled that Police were free to field Sina since the latter denies he had binding terms with Rayon. Sina left Rayon after he was suspended on disciplinary grounds and went on to join Congolese side Saint Eloi Lupopo. During the Tuesday meeting, it became clear that while his arrival at Rayon was sanctioned by Ferwafa, neither the football governing body nor Rayon could not prove the deal had been sealed through proper procedures. Rayon had insisted that Police must pay them Rwf5 million (not Rwf3 million as earlier reported – Editor) as compensation for the six months that remained on the player’s contract with the league champions. The current administration at Ferwafa is just weeks into the job, having replaced the Celestine ‘Abega’ Ntagungira-led team. Lost cause Following the decision, Rayon, perhaps cognisant of the fact that they breached the rules while acquiring Sina five years ago, has now taken a rather soft stance on the matter. Now club officials appear to have given up on the money and the man they sought from Police, albeit reluctantly. But they still grumble they were disappointed by both Sina and rivals Police FC. “Sina himself denied having signed a contract with us, claiming that the signature on the document was not his!” Rayon general secretary Olivier Gakwaya, who attended the Tuesday meeting, told Times Sport. He added: “We have nothing to do since Police are not ready to listen to our demands. It’s up to Ferwafa to handle transfer issues properly to avoid such cases in the future.” However, his Police counterpart, CIP Jean de Dieu Mayira, insisted they can’t be held responsible for the irregularities committed by Ferwafa. “We are waiting for Ferwafa to issue new license to Sina, for us we have provided them with all the necessary documents regarding this transfer.” Albert Mwanafunzi, the in-charge of competitions at Ferwafa, confirmed their decision. “We had a meeting with all the concerned parties and after studying the case thoroughly we decided that Police can sign the player.” “In our assessment, Sina will be handled as a foreign player whose transfer must follow the ITC regulations as set by Fifa,” he explained. The striker, who turns 25 years on July 18, signed a two-year contract with Police just over two weeks ago. Police are in fourth position on the league log with 30 points, six behind leaders APR and four adrift of second-placed Rayon Sports.