Spartak Moscow midfielder Victor Moses, who joined from Chelsea in August, has seen his transfer to Burnley get blocked by the Premier League as ‘sporting integrity’ was cited as the reason for the transfer not being allowed to take place.
FIFA and UEFA had allowed special transfer movement for players in the Russian and Ukrainian leagues to move elsewhere even as the normal transfer windows in European football remain shut. However, according to Sky report, the Premier League have blocked the possibility of Moses leaving to sign for Burnley.
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The league have taken the decision in order to protect the sporting integrity of the league. They believe that allowing the transfer would’ve been unfair to Burnley’s competitors at the bottom of the table. Burnley are currently fighting to escape the relegation zone. They are second from bottom and have won only three games all season.
With 21 points, they currently find themselves in the relegation zone along with Norwich City and Watford. It doesn’t come as a surprise then that Burnley were looking for anything within their power to make it out of the bottom three spots in the table and the signing of former Chelsea player Moses could’ve had a huge impact on the remainder of the season.
2021/22 Premier League table
| # | Team | Goal difference | Points |
| 16 | Leeds United | -33 | 29 |
| 17 | Everton | -18 | 25 |
| 18 | Watford | -26 | 22 |
| 19 | Burnley | -16 | 21 |
| 20 | Norwich City | -45 | 17 |
Sky also report that from family and friends as Burnley bid to ‘rescue’ him from ‘Russia distress’ during the war with Ukraine. The club hasn’t decided to speak about it on the record either and the situation is surprising given how Ligue 1 and La Liga have allowed such movements from Russia and Ukraine to occur unimpeded.
Sheffield United became the first club in England to bring a player from the Russian leagues when they signed Filip Uremovic from Rubin Kazan and the Championship has allowed the transfer to take place.
As things currently stand, Moses will remain in Russia but a major backlash from fans might see the Premier League reversing its decision and allowing him to return to England. One solution can be allowing Burnley to complete the transfer but not registering him in the league until the end of the season.
