Ivorian club Abidjan City have filed an official complaint with FIFA, urging the world governing body to halt the transfer of David Datro Fofana from Norwegian club Molde FK to Chelsea.
The Abidjan-based club asked FIFA to suspend the £10m transfer claiming the striker was fraudulently signed by the Norwegian club Molde when he joined them two years ago.
Abidjan City asked FIFA to intervene to ensure the decision of its Dispute Resolution Chamber decision is respected by Chelsea who bought the player from the Norwegian club last week.
David Fofana joined Abidjan City Football Club in 2016 as a minor with the authorization of his mother Valerie Datro Mahi but she denied signing the agreement claiming the player was not attached to any club.
Armed with this claim by the player's mother and the approval of some officials of the Ivorian football federation the striker was transferred to Molde.
The transfer to the Norwegian club forced Abidjan City to approach FIFA claiming the striker was fraudulently acquired.
BREAKING: Ivorian side Abidjan City have reported English giants @ChelseaFC & @Molde_FK to FIFA claiming the latter 'stole' their player David Dattro Fofana in collusion with the striker's mother.
(THREAD) pic.twitter.com/YtmMMOTSZs
— Ibrahim Sannie Daara (@SannieDaara) January 4, 2023
The club's President Marco NE Taddei, a former Ivory coach international, wrote to the Swiss-based organisation last week saying the status of the striker was already a subject of an investigation of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber.
"I am following the decision rendered by the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, the conclusions of which were communicated on September 6, 2022, and the reasons communicated on September 7," Marco Ne said in a letter to FIFA.
"Today, we consider that this decision validates the contract which was signed between the player Datro David Fofana and our club on July 31, 2019, and that any transfer, in particular to the Chelsea club, of this player, without our agreement, would be contrary FIFA rules and could be questioned.
"We, therefore, invite you to intervene with the Chelsea club, which is copied, so that the player's transfer is suspended until the dispute between the Molde FK club and ourselves is settled by the CAS.
"We naturally reserve all our rights because we consider that the interest of African football and in particular of our club has been violated by the European club Molde FK, also in copy of this letter."
Chelsea signed the Ivory Coast international Fofana last week from Molde for a fee believed to be between £8m-£10m.
"Chelsea FC has reached a pre-agreement with Molde FK for the transfer of David Datro Fofana. The 20-year-old striker will join the Blues on 1 January 2023. We look forward to welcoming David to the club," a Chelsea statement read.
Fofana, who turned 20 in December, has scored 15 goals in 24 games in Norway's top flight this season.
The striker had only one year remaining on his current contract with Molde for whom he signed in 2021 on a four-year deal.