Calcutta, Jan. 31: During his stint with Mohun Bagan, Jose Ramirez Barreto had given his beloved club all the major trophies. He left India a broken man, but from what the club authorities did today shows the officials share no such sentiment with the forward.

Instead of trying to find out the real reason behind the Brazilian’s departure, court-appointed special officers Shyamal Sen, G.N. Ray and Indrajit Sen slapped an incredible Rs 1 crore fine on the Brazilian ball-charmer and also imposed a 360-day ban.

If the fine isn’t paid Mohun Bagan will not issue the ‘no objection’ letter which is needed by Barreto if he wants to play for any club anywhere in the world.

The special officers were unable to make themselves available at this evening’s press conference. Instead, their ‘representative’, assistant secretary Balaram Chowdhury and executive committee member Samir Mukherjee read out the letter that will be sent to Barreto, who is currently in Brazil.

The letter says Barreto had broken the contract signed with the club on July 3, 2003, which obligates him to represent Mohun Bagan till April 2004. The letter alleges that Barreto broke that contract and left India on January 20. “This is desertion, and we had no option but to impose the penalties on you,” the letter read.

It was also said that the answer given by Barreto to the showcause notice issued by the special officers was found unsatisfactory.

The letter says Barreto had made remarks against the club officials which has severely tarnished the image of the club.

The special officers said that though the club owes Barreto only Rs 2.16 lakh, Barreto had wrongly claimed Rs. 7.5 lakh.

It was also claimed that Barreto had flown back on the air tickets which the club had given him only to use at the end of the season. “But you have used the tickets, worth Rs 4 lakh, mid-season,” the letter added. The letter further alleges that the player had incurred expenditure to the tune of Rs 25 lakh on his return journey, which included stay and etc. in Bangkok.

The special officers feel that the club will lose sponsorship money due to Barreto’s desertion and his place cannot be filled by another foreigner, according to National League rules.

Mohun Bagan secretary Anjan Mitra, on the other hand, made it clear that the special officers do not have the right to impose such penalties on a foreigner.

“I’ll write to the AIFF, Fifa, AFC and the Brazilian Football Federation that the decision does not reflect the voice of the club,” Mitra said.

“I’ll have the signature of two-thirds of the executive committee, which will substantiate my claim,” the secretary said.

More foreigners

Among all this tumult, Bagan are planning to bring in two more foreign players. “One is a Nigerian, the other a Bulgarian,” the assistant secretary said. Zimbabwean Noel Kasak, however, is unlikely to be signed. This goes against the tone and substance of the letter which talks about that NFL rule barring an extra foreigner.