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Tri-Nation Under-19s Tournament in United Arab Emirates
Shevon’s valiant effort was in vain as Afghan edged Sri Lanka by 4 runs
Shevon Daniel’s valiant effort was in vain as Afghanistan Under-19 edged Sri Lanka Under-19 by a thrilling 4 runs in the 6th match of the U-19 Tri-Series at Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi.
Opting to bat first, the Afghans posted a mammoth 323-7 in their allotted 50 overs and in reply Sri Lanka fell 4 runs short of the target, being bowled out for 319 runs.
Afghans were off to a shaky start when their opener Suliman Arabzai (12) fell cheaply when he was caught plumb in front of Vishwa Lahiru’s bowling. His partner Hezbullah Dorani then played a steady inning before he fell for 39 runs.
With the scoreboard reading at 2-67, a game-changing 151-run partnership for the third wicket between skipper Numan Shah and Sohil Khan saw the Afghans gaining back momentum. Numan led from the front with a brilliant century (116 runs off 109 balls), which included 13 fours and 3 sixes, while his partner Sohail Khan played a watchful role, scoring a valuable 52 runs to revive their innings.
The duo smashed the Lankan blowers all over the park until Vishva Rajapaksa got the vital breakthrough to send in-form batter Numan back to the pavilion in the 36th over.
With the damage already done, the Afghans added some crucial runs from down the order that helped them post a mammoth score of 323-7 in their allotted 50 overs.
Haroon Khan also played a crucial role in the latter part of the innings, scoring a quick-fire 56 runs off just 41 balls.
In reply, Sri Lanka was reduced to 3-46 in a run chase which could not afford such a start to the innings.
Desperately needing a huge partnership, skipper Shevon Daniel and Dinura Kalupahana (47) took charge with a 112-run partnership for the fourth wicket to turn things around. The duo showed great maturity and composure, playing sensibly and punishing any loose deliveries until Dinura bit the dust when Nasir Hassan got the breakthrough.
With the scoreboard reading 158-4, another useful 83-run partnership – this time between Shevon and Hiran Jayasundara – saw them getting closer to the target.
Shevon the hero with the bat for Sri Lanka, top scored with a blistering 115 balls and 140 runs including 10 boundaries and 6 sixes in an effort to take his team over the line, but he fell to Bashir Ahmad, who got the breakthrough when he bagged the all-important wicket of Shevon in the 39th over. The responsibility of getting the team over the line now fell into the hands of the lower-order batters.
Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, Sri Lanka was able to keep up with the run rate and get closer to the target, with a crucial 44-run partnership for the 8th wicket between Vishwa Rajapakse (26) and Duvindu Rantunga (27), until Bashir Ahmad once again delivered with the ball to send Vishwa back to the pavilion.
Duvindu was left to take the game to the final over, with Sri Lanka needing just 6 runs off the last 6 deliveries with 2 wickets in hand. A win for Sri Lanka was written all over, but the Afghans turned the tables to bag the wicket of Duvindu off the first ball of the last over and Treveen Mathew off the 3rd to hand Afghanistan a narrow 4-run victory.
Bashir Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers as he ended up with impressive figures of 10.0-0-37-7.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan: 323-7 (Numan Shah 116, Sohil Khan 52, Haroon Khan 56, Dinura Kalupahana 2-76, Vishva Lahiru 2-41, Vishwa Rajapakse 2-56)
Sri Lanka: 319- all out (49.3) (Shevon Daniel 140, Dinura Kalupahana 47, Bashir Ahmad 7-54)
එක්සත් අරාබි එමීර් රාජ්යයේ පැවැත්වෙන අවුරුදු 19න් පහළ තුන්කොන් තරගාවලිය
ෂෙවෝන්ගේ වීර උත්සාහය නිෂ්ඵල වූ අතර ඇෆ්ගනිස්තානය ශ්රී ලංකාව ලකුණු 4කින් ජය ගත්තේය
ෂෙවෝන් ඩැනියෙල්ගේ අභීත උත්සාහය නිෂ්ඵල වීමත් සමඟ ඇෆ්ගනිස්තාන වයස අවුරුදු 19 න් පහළ ශ්රී ලංකා වයස අවුරුදු 19 න් පහළ තුන්කොන් ක්රිකට් තරගාවලියේ අබුඩාබි හි ටොලරන්ස් ඕවල් ක්රීඩාංගණයේ පැවැති 6 වැනි තරගයෙන් ලකුණු 4 ක තියුණු ජයක් අත්කර ගත්තේය.
පළමුවෙන් පන්දුවට පහරදීමට තීරණය කළ ඇෆ්ගනිස්ථාන කණ්ඩායම නියමිත පන්දුවාර 50 අවසානයේ කඩුලු 7ක් දැවී ලකුණු 323ක් ලබා ගත් අතර පිළිතුරු ලෙස ශ්රී ලංකා කණ්ඩායම ලකුණු 319කට දැවී ගියේ ඉලක්කයට ලකුණු 4ක් අඩුවෙන්.
ඇෆ්ගනිස්තාන් පිලේ ආරම්භක පිතිකරු සුලිමන් අරාබ්සායි (12) විශ්ව ළහිරුගේ පන්දු යැවීම හමුවේ දැවී ගිය අතර, ඇෆ්ගනිස්තාන් පිලේ ආරම්භය නොසන්සුන් විය. අනතුරුව ඔහුගේ සහකරු හිස්බුල්ලා ඩොරානි ලකුණු 39කට දැවී යාමට පෙර ස්ථාවර ඉනිමක් ක්රීඩා කළේය.
ලකුණු පුවරුව 2-67ක් ලෙස සටහන් වෙද්දී, නායක නුමන් ෂා සහ සොහිල් ඛාන් අතර තෙවැනි කඩුල්ල සඳහා ලකුණු 151ක සබඳතාවයක් වෙනස් කරමින් ඇෆ්ගනිස්තාන ක්රීඩකයෝ යළිත් වේගයක් ලබා ගත්හ. හතරේ පහර 13ක් සහ හයේ පහර 3ක් ඇතුළත්ව විශිෂ්ට ශතකයක් (පන්දු 109කදී ලකුණු 116ක්) සමගින් නුමාන් පෙරමුණ ගත් අතර ඔහුගේ සහකරු සොහයිල් ඛාන් අවධානයෙන් පසුවූ අතර අගනා ලකුණු 52ක් රැස්කරමින් ඔවුන්ගේ ඉනිමට පණ දීමට සමත් විය.
36 වැනි ඕවරයේදී ෆෝම් පිතිකරු නුමාන් නැවත මණ්ඩපයට යැවීමට විශ්ව රාජපක්ෂට අත්යවශ්ය පෙරළිය ලැබෙන තෙක් ඔවුන් දෙදෙනා උද්යානය පුරා ලංකා පිපිරුම්කරුවන් බිඳ දැමූහ.
මේ වන විටත් සිදුවී ඇති හානියත් සමඟ ඇෆ්ගනිස්ථානු කණ්ඩායමට නියමිත පන්දුවාර 50 තුළදී ලකුණු 323-7ක දැවැන්ත ලකුණු සංඛ්යාවක් වාර්තා කිරීමට උපකාරී වූ අනුපිළිවෙලින් තීරණාත්මක ලකුණු කිහිපයක් එකතු විය.
හරූන් ඛාන් ද ඉනිමේ අවසාන භාගයේදී තීරණාත්මක කාර්යභාරයක් ඉටු කරමින් වේගවත් ලකුණු 56ක් ලබා ගත්තේ පන්දු 41ක් පමණක් වැය කරමිනි.
පිළිතුරු ඉනිම ක්රීඩා කළ ශ්රී ලංකා ඉනිමේ එවැනි ආරම්භයක් ලබා ගැනීමට නොහැකි වූ ලකුණු හඹායාමකදී ලකුණු 3-46කට සීමා විය.
දැවැන්ත සබඳතාවයක් අවශ්යව තිබියදී නායක ෂෙවෝන් ඩැනියෙල් සහ දිනුර කළුපහන (47) සිවුවැනි කඩුල්ලට ලකුණු 112 ක සම්බන්ධතාවක් පවත්වමින් සියල්ල කණපිට හැරවූහ. නසීර් හසන් පෙරළිය ලබා ගන්නා විට දිනුර කුඩු පට්ටම් ගසන තෙක් ඔවුන් දෙදෙනා ඉතා පරිණතභාවය සහ සන්සුන් භාවය පෙන්නුම් කළ අතර, සංවේදීව ක්රීඩා කළ අතර ඕනෑම ලිහිල් පන්දු යැවීමකට දඬුවම් කළහ.
ලකුණු පුවරුව 158-4ක් ලෙස සටහන් වෙද්දී තවත් ප්රයෝජනවත් ලකුණු 83ක සබඳතාවක් – මෙවර ෂෙවෝන් සහ හිරාන් ජයසුන්දර අතර – ඔවුන් ඉලක්කයට ළං වන අයුරු දැකගත හැකි විය.
ශ්රී ලංකාව වෙනුවෙන් පිත්තෙන් වීරයා වූ ෂෙවෝන් පන්දු 115 කදී හතරේ පහර 10 ක් සහ හයේ පහර 6 ක් සමඟින් ලකුණු 140 ක් රැස්කරමින් තම කණ්ඩායම ඉහළට ගෙනයාමට උත්සාහ කළ නමුත් ඔහු එම පෙරළිය ලබා ගත් බෂීර් අහමඩ් වෙත දැවී ගියේය. 39 වැනි ඕවරයේදී ෂෙවෝන්ගේ වැදගත්ම කඩුල්ල දවා ගත්තේය. කණ්ඩායම ලකුණු මට්ටමෙන් ඉහළට ගෙන ඒමේ වගකීම දැන් පහළ පෙළ පිතිකරුවන් අතට පත් විය.
නියමිත කාල පරතරයන්හිදී කඩුලු බිඳ වැටුණද ලකුණු වේගය පවත්වා ගනිමින් ඉලක්කයට සමීප වීමට ශ්රී ලංකාව සමත් වූ අතර, විශ්ව රාජපක්ෂ (26) සහ දුවිඳු රන්තුංග (27) අතර 8 වැනි කඩුල්ලට ලකුණු 44 ක තීරණාත්මක සබඳතාවක් ගොඩනැගීමට හැකි විය. බෂීර් අහමඩ් යළිත් වරක් පන්දුව ලබා දුන්නේ විශ්ව ආපසු පැවිලියන් වෙත යැවීම සඳහා ය.
තරගය අවසන් ඕවරය දක්වා ගෙන යාමට දුවිඳුට ඉතිරිව තිබූ අතර, ශ්රී ලංකාවට අවසන් පන්දු 6 තුළ කඩුලු 2ක් අතැතිව අවශ්ය වූයේ ලකුණු 6ක් පමණි. ශ්රී ලංකාවට ජයග්රහණයක් මුළුමනින් ලියැවී තිබුණත්, අවසන් ඕවරයේ පළමු පන්දුවෙන් දුවිඳුගේ කඩුල්ලත්, 3 වැනි පන්දුවෙන් ට්රේවින් මැතිව්ගේ කඩුල්ලත් ලබා ගැනීමට ඇෆ්ගනිස්තාන ක්රීඩකයෝ මේස පෙරළූයේ ඇෆ්ගනිස්තානයට ලකුණු 4ක පටු ජයග්රහණයක් ලබා දෙමිනි.
බෂීර් අහමඩ් පන්දු යවන්නන්ගේ තේරීම වූයේ ඔහු 10.0-0-37-7 ලෙස සිත් ඇදගන්නා සුළු සංඛ්යාවන් සමඟින් අවසන් විය.
කෙටි ලකුණු:
ඇෆ්ගනිස්ථානය: 323-7 (නුමන් ෂා 116, සොහිල් ඛාන් 52, හරූන් ඛාන් 56, දිනුර කළුපහන 2-76, විශ්ව ලහිරු 2-41, විශ්ව රාජපක්ෂ 2-56)
ශ්රී ලංකාව: සියලු දෙනා දැවී 319 (49.3) (ෂෙවෝන් ඩැනියෙල් 140, දිනුර කළුපහන 47, බෂීර් අහමඩ් 7-54)
ஐக்கிய அரபு எமிரேட்ஸில் 19 வயதுக்குட்பட்டோருக்கான முத்தரப்புப் போட்டி
ஆப்கானிஸ்தான் அணி இலங்கையை 4 ரன்கள் வித்தியாசத்தில் வீழ்த்தியதால் ஷெவோனின் துணிச்சலான முயற்சி வீணானது
அபுதாபியில் உள்ள டோலரன்ஸ் ஓவல் மைதானத்தில் நடைபெற்ற U-19 முத்தரப்பு தொடரின் 6வது ஆட்டத்தில் 19 வயதுக்குட்பட்டோருக்கான இலங்கை அணியை 4 ரன்கள் வித்தியாசத்தில் ஆப்கானிஸ்தான் அண்டர்-19 அணி வீழ்த்தியதால் ஷெவோன் டேனியலின் துணிச்சலான முயற்சி வீணானது.
முதலில் துடுப்பெடுத்தாடத் தெரிவுசெய்யப்பட்ட ஆப்கானிஸ்தான் அணி நிர்ணயிக்கப்பட்ட 50 ஓவர்களில் 323-7 ஓட்டங்களைப் பெற்றது.
விஷ்வா லஹிருவின் பந்துவீச்சில் ஆட்டமிழந்த ஆப்கானிஸ்தான் அணியின் தொடக்க ஆட்டக்காரர் சுலிமான் அராப்சாய் (12) மலிவாக வீழ்ந்தார். அவரது கூட்டாளியான ஹெஸ்புல்லா டோரானி 39 ரன்களுக்கு வீழ்வதற்கு முன் நிலையான இன்னிங்ஸை விளையாடினார்.
ஸ்கோர்போர்டு 2-67 ஆக இருந்த நிலையில், கேப்டன் நுமன் ஷா மற்றும் சோஹில் கான் இடையே மூன்றாவது விக்கெட்டுக்கு 151 ரன் பார்ட்னர்ஷிப் ஆனது ஆப்கானிஸ்தான் அணியை மீண்டும் வேகப்படுத்தியது. நுமான் ஒரு அற்புதமான சதத்துடன் (109 பந்துகளில் 116 ரன்கள்), அதில் 13 பவுண்டரிகள் மற்றும் 3 சிக்ஸர்களுடன் முன்னணியில் இருந்தார், அதே நேரத்தில் அவரது கூட்டாளியான சோஹைல் கான் கவனமாக விளையாடி, மதிப்புமிக்க 52 ரன்கள் எடுத்து அவர்களின் இன்னிங்ஸை மீட்டெடுத்தார்.
36 வது ஓவரில் விஸ்வ ராஜபக்ச இன்-ஃபார்ம் பேட்டர் நுமனை பெவிலியனுக்கு அனுப்புவதற்கான முக்கிய திருப்புமுனையைப் பெறும் வரை இருவரும் பார்க் முழுவதும் லங்கா ப்ளோயர்களை அடித்து நொறுக்கினர்.
ஏற்கனவே சேதம் ஏற்பட்ட நிலையில், ஆப்கானிஸ்தான் வரிசையிலிருந்து சில முக்கியமான ரன்களைச் சேர்த்தது, அது அவர்களுக்கு நிர்ணயிக்கப்பட்ட 50 ஓவர்களில் 323-7 என்ற மிகப்பெரிய ஸ்கோரை பதிவு செய்ய உதவியது.
ஹாரூன் கானும் இன்னிங்ஸின் பிற்பகுதியில் முக்கியப் பங்காற்றினார், விரைவாக 41 பந்துகளில் 56 ரன்கள் எடுத்தார்.
பதிலுக்கு துடுப்பெடுத்தாடிய இலங்கை ரன் வேட்டையில் 3-46 என சுருங்கியதால், இன்னிங்ஸைத் தொடங்க முடியவில்லை.
ஒரு பெரிய பார்ட்னர்ஷிப் தேவைப்பட்ட நிலையில், கேப்டன் ஷெவோன் டேனியல் மற்றும் தினுர கலுபஹன (47) ஆகியோர் நான்காவது விக்கெட்டுக்கு 112 ரன் பார்ட்னர்ஷிப்பில் சேர்ந்து நிலைமையை மாற்றினர். இருவரும் சிறந்த முதிர்ச்சியையும் நிதானத்தையும் வெளிப்படுத்தினர், விவேகத்துடன் விளையாடினர் மற்றும் நசீர் ஹாசன் திருப்புமுனையைப் பெற்றபோது தினுரா புழுதியைக் கக்கும் வரை எந்த தளர்வான பந்துகளையும் தண்டித்தார்கள்.
ஸ்கோர்போர்டு 158-4 என்ற நிலையில், மற்றொரு பயனுள்ள 83 ரன் பார்ட்னர்ஷிப் – இந்த முறை ஷெவோன் மற்றும் ஹிரன் ஜெயசுந்தர இடையே – அவர்கள் இலக்கை நெருங்குவதைக் கண்டனர்.
115 பந்துகளில் 10 பவுண்டரிகள் மற்றும் 6 சிக்ஸர்களுடன் 140 ரன்கள் குவித்து இலங்கை அணிக்காக துடுப்பெடுத்தாடிய ஷேவோன், தனது அணியை லைனுக்கு மேல் கொண்டு செல்லும் முயற்சியில் அதிக ரன்களை குவித்தார், ஆனால் அவர் பஷீர் அகமதுவிடம் வீழ்ந்தார். 39வது ஓவரில் ஷெவோனின் அனைத்து முக்கிய விக்கெட்டையும் கைப்பற்றினார். அணியை வெற்றிபெறச் செய்யும் பொறுப்பு இப்போது கீழ்-வரிசை பேட்டர்களின் கைகளில் விழுந்தது.
சீரான இடைவெளியில் விக்கெட்டுகளை இழந்த போதிலும், விஷ்வ ராஜபக்சே (26) மற்றும் துவிந்து ரந்துங்கா (27) ஆகியோருக்கு இடையேயான 8வது விக்கெட்டுக்கு 44 ரன்களின் முக்கியமான பார்ட்னர்ஷிப் மூலம், இலங்கை ரன் ரேட்டைத் தக்க வைத்துக் கொண்டு இலக்கை நெருங்க முடிந்தது. விஷ்வாவை மீண்டும் பெவிலியனுக்கு அனுப்ப, பஷீர் அகமது மீண்டும் பந்தில் பந்து வீசினார்.
கடைசி 6 பந்துகளில் 2 விக்கெட்டுகள் கைவசம் இருக்க இலங்கைக்கு 6 ரன்கள் மட்டுமே தேவைப்பட்ட நிலையில், துவிந்து ஆட்டத்தை இறுதி ஓவருக்கு எடுத்துச் செல்ல எஞ்சியிருந்தார். இலங்கைக்கு ஒரு வெற்றி என்று எழுதப்பட்டது, ஆனால் கடைசி ஓவரின் முதல் பந்தில் துவிந்துவின் விக்கெட்டையும், 3வது பந்தில் ட்ரெவீன் மேத்யூவின் விக்கெட்டையும் கைப்பற்ற ஆப்கானிஸ்தான் அட்டவணையை மாற்றியது, ஆப்கானிஸ்தானை 4 ரன்கள் வித்தியாசத்தில் வெற்றி பெற்றது.
பஷீர் அகமது 10.0-0-37-7 என்ற அற்புதமான புள்ளிகளுடன் முடிவடைந்ததால், பந்துவீச்சாளர்களின் தேர்வாக இருந்தார்.
சுருக்கமான மதிப்பெண்கள்:
ஆப்கானிஸ்தான்: 323-7 (நுமன் ஷா 116, சோஹில் கான் 52, ஹாரூன் கான் 56, தினுர கலுபஹானா 2-76, விஷ்வ லஹிரு 2-41, விஷ்வ ராஜபக்சே 2-56)
இலங்கை: 319- ஆல் அவுட் (49.3) (ஷெவோன் டேனியல் 140, தினுர கலுபஹானா 47, பஷீர் அஹமட் 7-54)
Football
Mohamed Sahi Transfer Dispute Deepens: Two Clubs, Two Contracts – One Confusing Reality
Fresh details reveal dual agreements, silent acceptance, and a looming registration problem ahead of the Champions League
Colombo – June 17, 2025:
The player registration controversy surrounding Mohamed Sahi has intensified, as newly uncovered information confirms the existence of two separate agreements signed by the player — one with New Star SC and another with Crystal Palace FC Gampola, both for the 2025/26 season.
The Timeline of Conflict
- On January 15, 2025, Mohamed Sahi received a release from his former club Eravur YSS, stating that he would be joining Crystal Palace FC.
- This release letter was shared via WhatsApp with Crystal Palace, but the original document was handed over to New Star SC, who then registered the player for the 2025/26 season based on a contract signed on January 16 for LKR 85,000.
- Later in February, Sahi went on to sign another contract — this time with Crystal Palace FC, reportedly for LKR 215,000, including two advance payments: LKR 35,000 and LKR 45,000 to his father’s account.
This sequence raises serious concerns about whether the player fully understood his obligations or whether both clubs failed to clarify the status of the original registration.
Crystal Palace Questions: Silence from New Star
Despite publicly announcing the signing of Mohamed Sahi on social media in February, New Star SC remained silent. No objections were raised until the issue surfaced during I League scrutiny.
This inaction has sparked public questions:
- Why didn’t New Star respond immediately if the player was already under contract with them?
- Was there an oversight, or did they expect the issue to resolve quietly?
I League vs Champions League Impact
While the situation has had no direct impact on the I League, given that New Star SC registered the player first and the I League is an invitational tournament not governed by the FFSL, Sahi only featured under New Star during the competition. However, the matter gains greater significance in the lead-up to the Sri Lanka Champions League, where both New Star SC and Crystal Palace FC are reported to have submitted player registrations for Mohamed Sahi, potentially triggering a registration conflict.
This raises the risk of:
- Duplicate entries under the same player ID
- Last-minute disqualifications or disputes
- Administrative confusion for tournament organizers
A Potential Settlement?
In an attempt to ease tensions, sources close to New Star SC have confirmed that Mohamed Sahi is willing to return the advance payment made by Crystal Palace FC to resolve the financial element of the issue amicably.
Final Word
While this incident is unlikely to influence the I League outcome, it exposes a flaw in inter-club communication and registration coordination. With the Champions League approaching, resolving these overlaps is essential to avoid technical complications or eligibility issues.
Football
Sahi Transfer Row Deepens: Crystal Palace FC Presents Contract, Files Complaint with FFSL
Conflicting agreements, advance payments, and dual registration raise serious concerns
The ongoing dispute over the registration of Mohamed Sahi for the I League 2025 has taken a new turn, as Crystal Palace FC Gampola has stepped forward with documentary evidence and a formal complaint to tournament organizers.
In an exclusive communication with Sri Lankan Sports TV, an official from Crystal Palace FC stated that:
Sahi signed a valid agreement with our club in February 2025, shortly after obtaining his release from Eravur YSS, specifically for the purpose of joining Crystal Palace FC. We were never informed about any subsequent agreement with New Star SC
Contract Details & Advance Payment
A copy of the player agreement signed between Mohamed Sahi and Crystal Palace FC reveals the following:
- Contract signed in February 2025
- Total contract value: Rs. 215,000
- Advance payment made: Rs. 75,000
- An agreement was signed in the presence of club representatives, binding the player to Crystal Palace FC for the 2025/26 season.
This challenges New Star SC’s claim that the player signed with them on January 16 for a yearly sum of Rs. 85,000, and raises questions about the player’s transparency in dealing with both clubs.
Complaint Filed with Organizers and FFSL
Crystal Palace FC has confirmed that they have submitted a written complaint to both the I League Organizing Committee and the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL). The complaint seeks an investigation into:
- Possible breach of contract
- Lack of notification from the player regarding dual signing
- Violation of the player registration protocol
They also question how the same player ID number may have been registered under two clubs — a concern that could reveal a technical or procedural flaw in the domestic player registration system.
Champions League Conflict Brewing?
While the I League 2025 may not be immediately impacted due to tournament scope and timing, both New Star SC and Crystal Palace FC have reportedly registered Mohamed Sahi for the upcoming Sri Lanka Champions League.
If both registrations are accepted under the same ID, it could escalate into a major eligibility issue, and the FFSL might be forced to intervene to resolve the conflict before the Champions League kicks off.
New Star’s Willingness to Resolve
Despite the brewing tension, New Star SC has indicated a willingness to resolve the financial dispute. A club official told Sri Lankan Sports TV:
Mohamed Sahi is prepared to return the Rs. 75,000 advance taken from Crystal Palace FC to settle the matter amicably.
Final Word
The case of Mohamed Sahi is now more than a transfer mix-up — it reflects deeper administrative and gaps in player monitoring and registrations . As Sri Lanka’s football structure aspires for professionalism, establishing a centralized, transparent player registration system is critical to avoid such dual-signing debacles.
Football
I League 2025: New Star SC Breaks Silence on Mohamed Sahi Transfer Dispute
Club Claims Legal Ownership of Player and Denies Any Tie with Crystal Palace FC Gampola
Colombo – June 16, 2025:
New Star Sports Club has issued an official clarification to Sri Lankan Sports TV in response to recent allegations raised over the eligibility of player Mohamed Sahi, who appeared for them in the ongoing I League 2025.
The controversy began when Crystal Palace FC Gampola claimed the player had been part of their club and was not officially released to play for another side. However, New Star SC has now provided a detailed counter-statement, presenting what they claim is a legitimate and documented timeline of events.
Timeline of the Transfer (According to New Star SC)
- January 15, 2025: Mohamed Sahi was officially released by his previous club Eravur YSS.
- January 16, 2025: He signed a one-year contract with New Star SC for the 2025/26 season for a fee of Rs. 85,000. annum.
- Following this, New Star SC completed the player’s registration for the I League 2025, adhering to the official player registration guidelines and transfer protocols.
Official Documents and Tournament Committee Approval
New Star SC further stated that all relevant documentation regarding Sahi’s release, contract, and registration was submitted to the I League Tournament Committee, and the player’s inclusion in the squad was formally approved before the tournament began.
The club emphasized that:
All documents were verified by the tournament organizers, and the player was approved to participate under New Star SC. There was no contractual or regulatory tie between Mohamed Sahi and Crystal Palace FC Gampola.
On Crystal Palace FC Allegations
Responding directly to the claims by Crystal Palace FC, New Star SC clarified that:
- Mohamed Sahi had only appeared in friendly and 7-a-side games for Crystal Palace, with no official registration or contract in place.
- Therefore, any claims of ownership or breach of agreement by Crystal Palace are factually incorrect and unsupported by documentation.
Regulatory Backing
As per the I League 2025 Competition Regulations (Sections 15–17), a player is deemed eligible if:
1. They are officially released by their previous club;
2. They are duly contracted and registered within the tournament’s registration window;
3. Their documentation is verified and approved by the Tournament Committee .
If these requirements were met — as New Star SC claims — then the player was legitimately registered.
What’s Next?
While this clarification from New Star SC provides a strong rebuttal to the allegations, it remains to be seen whether the I League Tournament Committee will issue a public statement or ruling to close the matter.
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