Johnny Acosta left stranded in India - Manager blames East Bengal

Former East Bengal defender Johnny Acosta has been left fuming at his former employers after being left stranded in India, having to live at the Costa Rican embassy in New Delhi, waiting for a repatriation flight.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Acosta’s manager, Jose Luis Rodriguez, has accused East Bengal of “showing no respect” to the Costa Rica International. He has expressed his discontent on East Bengal abruptly terminating Acosta’s contract without paying his wages and asking him to vacate his apartment. On top of that, he alleged that the club did not provide the Costa Rican star with tickets to return home.

Rodriguez and Acosta are planning to take the matter to FIFA, complaining against breach of contract. East Bengal, however, has been evading the accusations as they believe the player’s contract had been with their former investor – Quess Corp.

“It has been a very tough situation for Johnny. He was frustrated with the behaviour of the club. Now he is feeling better because he is at the embassy in Delhi, waiting for his humanitarian flight, most likely on Saturday,” Rodriguez said to The Indian Express.

“Johnny has played in two World Cups. He is a big player in Costa Rica. At least they could have shown some respect,” he added.

Acosta was signed back by East Bengal in March but only played a handful of games after returning. He was contracted till May, but the club’s investor ‘Quess’ decided to invoke the ‘Force Majeure’ amid the Coronavirus pandemic, terminating all the player contracts.

According to Rodriguez, the disagreement between the two parties initiated when the club asked Acosta to arrange for his return flight after terminating the contract. “The contract says the club is responsible for flight tickets from Costa Rica to Kolkata and from there back home. It doesn’t say price or amount, but says the club is responsible to send the player back home. Their behaviour was surprising,” Rodriguez further went on to say.

East Bengal secretary Kalyan Majumdar, however, refused to take any responsibility, saying that the club had ‘nothing to do with Acosta’s contract’. “His contract was not with us, it was with Quess. As far as we are concerned, Johnny Acosta has gone back to Costa Rica, he can do whatever he wants,” Majumdar said.

The CEO of Quess Corporation, Ajit Isaac refused to break his silence on the issue. “We have nothing to do with the club so I am not taking any questions on this,” he said.

Rodriguez went on to add that Acosta, who is currently staying at the Embassy, should return home soon. However, the drama is far from over as Acosta and his team of lawyers will be taking the case to FIFA. “The main focus for us is to bring Johnny home. He has not received his payment for two months, so most likely we are going to go to FIFA to fight it there. Our lawyers will take care of that,” Rodriguez concluded.