Soccer News of Thursday, 30 August 2007

Source: Ibrahim Sannie

Furious Midtjylland report Tagoe to FIFA

Ghanaian side Maamobi-Midtjylland have reported striker Prince Tagoe to Fifa over his move to the UAE club Al-Shabab.

The 20-year-old was loaned out by the division one campaigners to Saudi side Al Ittihad after the 2006 African Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Tagoe was expected to revert to Maamobi-Midtjylland at the end of the loan deal in September last year but he opted to sign for Al Shabab without the knowledge of his club.

Frantic efforts by the late owner of Maamobi-Midtjylland, Alhaji Bimbo, to get the striker respect his contract proved futile, which forced the Ghana club to go to Fifa.

“We had no option but to report the lad to Fifa since he refused to return the calls and letters sent by Alhaji Bimbo,” Maamobi-Midtjylland vice-president Alhaji Gigi Mohammed said.

“Alhaji Bimbo was forced to write to Fifa three weeks ago when he was on his sick bed because other big clubs in Europe and elsewhere with better deals were interested in signing Prince.

“But we were aware that some agents were pushing him to do the wrong thing and he was also keen to break the laws of football.

“Since he even failed to respect the relationship we had with him as we nurtured him as a child, Alhaji Bimbo had no option but to seek redress at Fifa.”

The rift has been masked for the past nine months.

But the issue came to light on Thursday when the family of the late club president rejected a US$1,000 donation sent by Tagoe as his contribution towards the funeral of Alhaji Bimbo, who passed away last week.

“It is a total slap in the face that’s why the family rejected the money,” Bimbo's family spokesman Mohammed Amin Lamptey said.

"After betraying Alhaji in such a spetacular fashion you send money for his funeral?

“All the players managed by Alhaji - both home and abroad - kept on calling to ask how he was doing but Prince knew of Alhaji’s situation and never even bothered to call.

“Alhaji Bimbo felt very very cheated by Prince and did not hide the fact from everybody before he passed away.

“He will not be happy if we receive this money that is why the family turned it down.”

The late Alhaji Bimbo is credited with the upbringing of several players, both local and foreign based.

Black Stars striker Razak Pimpong of Norwegian side Viking as well as 2006 PLB Best Player, Kweku Essien were some of the players he nurtured.

Alhaji Bimbo, who was also a member of the Black Meteors management committee, was laid to rest on Monday.