Lecce plans revenge on Lameck Banda: "The ugly affair will also have sanctions"

Will Lameck Banda move to Libya after all? Lecce president Saverio Sticchi Damiani returned to the key moments of the tedious affair and explained in an interview with "Gazzetta dello Sport" what is expected to happen now.

"Banda has a contract that binds him to Lecce until June 2027, and it is clear that he cannot be treated as a free agent," said the president regarding the decision of the Italian Football Federation, which determined that the ex-Maccabi Petah Tikva player could not move for free to the Libyan club Al-Sweihli. "The Italian Federation actually confirmed an objective fact. The option was part of the contract he signed in the summer of 2022. We could have extended the contract and notified him by registered mail only, but last May we even invited him to our offices. Banda, accompanied by his previous agents, signed a document confirming the exercise of the extension option. We acted towards him consistently and fairly. We also officially published the extension on social media with the post: 'Banda and Lecce together until 2027'."

Damiani added: "We had a relationship of affection and cooperation. The bond between Lecce and Banda was excellent. In June, he asked me to advance part of his salary to cover the large expenses of his wedding, and as always, I agreed. He finally managed to become a leading player, and a few weeks earlier he posted a picture on Instagram for his 100th appearance for Lecce, calling us his Italian family."

Regarding the day of assembly after the vacation: "Banda, like all his teammates, told us when he was arriving and which flights he was taking to return to Italy. Suddenly, he just disappeared. Al-Fateh? Calling it negotiations is a bit of an exaggeration. We received a very low offer from the Saudi Al-Fateh, even lower than the amount we invested to acquire Lameck in 2022. We refused, and that was the end of the story. They were never really interested, a fact that they never raised the offer. And then he disappeared and looked for a deal that would take him to the Libyan club.

"The fact that he used anonymous people to smear Lecce in the media says a lot about the level of this affair. It's even hard for me to respond. The Libyan club submitted an official offer a month ago to buy Banda, and offered us a very low amount. That is, they knew that there was a contractual link between Lameck and Lecce. After we refused, they planned, with the cooperation of the player, a way to take him without paying even a cent. They tried to ask the FIGC to approve the transfer, but the federation of course refused and supported us."

When asked what will happen now, Damiani said: "It is likely that Banda will start the season playing illegally for Al-Sweihli. However, FIFA itself allows the parties to turn to a special court, and that is where Lecce will turn to initiate legal proceedings. Our goal is for the court to correctly calculate the damage caused by the unilateral breach of contract without a justified reason committed by Banda, in cooperation with Al-Sweihli, which caused him to behave irresponsibly.

"Lecce will present a series of data resulting from this affair. We raised Banda patiently, absorbed his mistakes on and off the pitch, until finally, only this season, he became a significant and consistent player and was the team's top scorer. Now his replacement will be a significant cost for my club. Beyond compensation, those responsible for this ugly affair also deserve sanctions. He deserves a suspension and the Libyan club deserves a ban on transfer negotiations."

Like Lecce, Maccabi Petah Tikva is also expecting developments soon, given the fact that the club has a percentage of his future sale.