Hyderabad FC given till 15th May to clear players' due payments

FOLLOWING COMPLAINTS ABOUT ISL franchise Hyderabad FC leaving a large sum of due salary unpaid to several players and their former head coach, AIFF have taken a look at the matter and issued a ruling.

Earlier, former head coach Phil Brown and many of the overseas players who played for the franchise during the 2019-20 season, wrote to AIFF after trying in vain for weeks to have their due payments cleared from the team owners.

According to multiple reports, the amount that Hyderabad FC still have to clear is around Rs 5 crore. The franchise, which moved from Pune to Hyderabad and re-branded itself at the start of the season, had a lukewarm response from local fans and finished at the bottom of the points table.

As the Federation opened an enquiry into the matter, the franchise management argued that due to the season being cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, an obligation to clear full payment did not arise. But AIFF ruled that since ISL had already ended before the season went into suspension, full payments needed to be made by the 15th of May.

While under normal circumstances ISL franchises may have played in a cup competition following the end of the league - either Super Cup or the planned revival of IFA Shield or both - but no such tournament was ever officially announced, which allowed the Federation to conclude that the players had fulfilled their contract with the franchise.

Hyderabad FC have two weeks to clear the dues to the players in question and their former head coach.