Sports Lawyers question TFF’s judgement in Yanga SC vs Morrison case

Sports lawyers in Tanzania have questioned the Tanzanian Football Federation's (TFF) move to declare Bernard Morrison as a free agent.

TFF’s recent judgment on the contractual tussle between Morrison and Yanga allowed the Ghanaian to enter into negotiations with other clubs and eventually signed for Simba SC.

Yanga contested the winger had signed a two-year extension, an assertion that was denied by the player, leading to the TFF taking up the matter and later decided in favour of the former Orlando Pirates star.

According to Frank Chacha, a former legal advisor for Yanga, the judgement by the federation was far from convincing.

“Anyone above 18 years has been granted the free will to enter into a contract so long as he is of sane mind, the contract does not contravene the laws of the country and that it was not signed under duress,” Chacha told Mwanaspoti.

“I have not seen convincing reasons why the contract [the contested agreement between Yanga and Morrison] was nullified. The reasons given are not convincing enough to cancel a contract.

“It is only the manner in which one decides to sign a contract that is not illegal in the eyes of the law.”

Joseph Shingano, who is a former TFF legal advisor, said the federation must make it clear why they deemed the contract between the Ghanaian and Yanga illegal.

“A contract is a deal between two parties and must include intricate details. When it comes to football contracts it must include the seasons the player intends to play,” Shingano told the same publication.

“The contract can also be cancelled after taking into account a player's current form and an example is [Mbwana] Samatta when he left TP Mazembe.

“Therefore TFF must state the deficiencies that the Morrison-Yanga contract had which made it illegal in the first place.”

A former elections board chair for the TFF, Revocatius Kuuli, also gave reasons why he was left with a number of questions after the judgement.

“They [TFF] were saying that maybe the documents were fake, the player is a free agent, that Morrison has a case at the Disciplinary Committee and this is the first time I have seen a court giving a judgement that is not self-explanatory and independent,” Kuuli said.

“This is the first of a kind instance I have come across.

“There is no way one is going to be punished for a mistake that was committed by a different person.”

Morrison will, however, have to pay Yanga $25,000 to be fully cleared to play for Kariakoo rivals Simba.