The World soccer governing body, FIFA, has given a provisional ITC license for Essam Al-Hadari to play with Swiss side FC Sion pending the resolution of the contractual dispute between the player and Ahli. A statement on the FIFA website said: "We can confirm that the Single Judge of the Players' Status Committee has decided that the Swiss Football Association is authorised to provisionally register the player Essam Al-Hadari with its affiliated club FC Sion with immediate effect. This decision was communicated to the parties on 16 April 2008." The International Football federation also confirmed that the Single Judge did not and could not decide on the substance of the contractual dispute between the player and his former club, Ahli , as only the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) has jurisdiction to pass a decision in that respect. The statement also said “DRC will have to examine if a breach of contract has been committed, with or without just cause, who would be deemed responsible for such a potential breach, and its possible consequences." Al-Hadari is tied to Ahli until 2010 but he took advantage of Article 17 in FIFA's regulations for the status and transfer of players by leaving the Red Devils last February to join FC Sion. The CAN 2006 and 2008 best keeper has already made it clear that he wants to play for FC Sion.
