Saint-Étienne protest Ali Abdi’s involvement in first-leg play-off draw with Nice | OneFootball

Saint-Étienne have lodged a protest with the LFP over Nice full-back Ali Abdi’s involvement in the first leg of their Ligue 1/Ligue 2 play-off, a 0-0 draw on Tuesday, according to L'Équipe.

The Tunisia international was the subject of discussions between his club and the Tunisian federation, with the tie falling during FIFA dates. He left on Thursday to complete visa formalities for travel to the United States for the World Cup, and he is ruled out of Friday’s return leg.

Abdi had clearance from his national team to play the first match at Geoffroy-Guichard, and Nice hold a letter from the Tunisian federation confirming this. Nice are surprised by the move and should not, in principle, face sanction on that point. They must still attend a summons on 8 June regarding the matter.

Nice also point to a specific FIFA regulation. National federations had to send call-ups to clubs by 10 May, 15 days before the official release period that began on 25 May.

The club believe that requirement was not met by several associations, notably Algeria, Tunisia and Ghana.

Source: L'Équipe