According to the sports reporter of Tasnim News Agency, the story of Eric Bagnama’s presence in the Golgohar Sirjan football team has interesting parts. A player who, according to the transfer laws of Iranian football, must have a history of being a national player, but the ambiguities of this matter are still high. Including a letter from the Gabonese Football Federation to the Iranian Football Federation confirming that the player is a national team player and has played in four friendly matches, but his records do not show this.
The letter from the Gabonese Football Federation to the Iranian Football Federation mentions the 25-year-old striker of the Golgohar football team on September 9, October 11 and November 10, 2020, as well as February 20, 2021 (September 19, October 20, November 11 and March 23 1399) He played 45, seven, 32 and four minutes against Liberia, Benin, Togo and Rwanda, respectively, but where is the ambiguity?
The plaintiffs from the Golgohar club, who played Eric Bagnama, believe that the inquiry letter from the Gabonese federation is fake. Due to the fact that the Gabonese striker from Golgohar, contrary to the inquiry, has no national record and has never played for the Gabonese national team. This issue is also evident in the statistics and records of the Gabonese national team, and the ambiguity regarding the letter that reached the Football Federation is becoming more and more.
Of the four matches received in the letter from the Gabonese Federation to the Iranian Football Federation, three matches against Liberia, Togo and Rwanda were not held at all, and it is not clear with what information and records this letter was sent to the Iranian Football Federation. Gabon’s last games against Liberia, Togo and Rwanda were in 1996, 2012 and 2016, respectively, but there is something interesting about Eric Bagnama’s date of birth and Gabon’s last game against Liberia. The following is the letter sent by the Gabonese Football Federation to the Iranian Football Federation:
The 25-year-old striker was born on March 10, 1996, and the last meeting between Gabon and Liberia dates back to January 16, 1996. That is, two months before the birth of Bagnama, Gabon made its first and final match against Liberia, which it won 2-1, as you can see in the picture below:
The Gabonese have played against Liberia since 1996, when a letter was sent to the Bagnama Football Federation on September 9, 2020, for the national team against Liberia. Even in a situation where there is no such competition in statistics at all. The letter mentions the presence of the Golgohar striker for seven minutes in the match between Gabon and Benin, which took place on October 11, 2020. Of course, this is the only match of the four matches mentioned in the letter of the Gabonese Football Federation to the Iranian Football Federation and it is also in the statistics, however, information about Bagnama’s presence is not even seen in the list of reserve players. The following image is related to the match between Gabon and Benin, where the names of the main players and the reserve of the two teams can be seen:
The other two matches mentioned by Bagnama for Gabon, a former national team player, are related to the team’s confrontation with Togo and Rwanda, which will be played on November 10, 2020 and February 20, 2021, but these days, too. Gabon has not met with the mentioned teams. The following pictures show Gabon’s latest meetings with Togo and Rwanda:
The statistics and information recorded from the Gabonese matches show that the information sent by the Gabonese Federation to the Iranian Football Federation is fake. Because there is no record of Bagnama being a national player, and according to the transfer rules of Iranian football, this player could not join Golgohar and play for this team. It is questionable how such information was falsified or given incorrect information in a letter sent by the Gabonese Football Federation. The next issue is related to the transfer committee of the league organization, how did they settle for a simple inquiry and the player’s records were not examined properly?
The league’s transfer committee, which has regulations for recruiting foreign players, should have more detailed inquiries into the Gabonese player, as a simple internet search shows Bagnama has no national record and it remains to be seen whether Golgohar will be in trouble. Esteghlal and Peykan are protesting against the player playing in Golgohar.