Mahindra United received a setback ahead of their Federation Cup match against JCT after Churchill Brothers refused to issue the No-Objection Certificate to Yusif Yakubu to play for them.

In a complaint to Goa [Images] Football Association (GFA) two days ago, Churchill Bros said they had signed Yakubu from El Haly FC (Egypt), paying the club a big amount as compensation.

"We do not mind Yakubu moving over to another club, but the transfer fee has to be settled", Churchill Brothers' manager Denzil Ferrao said in Margao on Wednesday.

GFA in turn, has referred the matter to AIFF, which would put it before the players' Status Committee, to decide the issue.

Also Read Churchill Brothers seek compensation for Yakubu's release

Yakubu's absence has upset the plans of Mahindra's coach Derrick Pereira, who was considering resting Brazilian Jose R Barreto who had arrived a few days ago.

But Derrick is confident that his team will win on Thursday. "We have a strong line-up and good bench strength. Our boys have been playing well as a team. Hope they settle down quickly as we cannot afford to make mistakes since the Federation Cup is a knockout tournament," he said.

JCT, on the other hand, have made changes in the team. The experience of Marcos Pereira, Renedy Singh, Kalyan Cheubey, Sunil Chettri and Pravin Kumar will be assets to the team looking to win the cup as they prepare for the National League, asserted coach Sukhwinder Singh.

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