CAS Pauses Anwar Ali Transfer Case for Five Months and Orders Indian Federation to Rule

The long-running transfer dispute involving Indian international defender Anwar Ali has taken a significant new turn. A three-member panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport has suspended its proceedings for five months and directed the All India Football Federation to complete its domestic adjudication within that period, giving the federation's Players' Status Committee or Appeals Committee the chance to deliver a decision with its grounds. The case centres on Ali's move between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal, a saga that has dragged through Indian football's governing structures for more than a year. Off the field, the dispute continues to affect the player directly: Ali suffered a hamstring injury in East Bengal's AFC Champions League Two match against Al Seeb, going off in the first half, and now looks set for a spell on the sidelines that could also rule him out of India's upcoming matches against New Zealand. For now, the legal clock has paused in Switzerland while the domestic process takes centre stage, and Ali's immediate focus will be on recovery rather than the courtroom.