When Harambee Stars midfielder Richard Odada moved to Romania in September 2025, many of his fans thought it was a new lease of life after a cold stint in Scotland.
Odada barely played for Dundee United in his Scottish stint and had a short loan move to OFK Beograd and when his parent made it clear that he was considered a surplus to requirement, he fund a new home in UTA Arad in the Romania top flight.
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Things however hasn’t been rosy for the defensive midfielder since the summer move as he is yet to make any appearance for his new club. The move has seen him miss latest calls ups to the national team with many asking what might have gone wrong for a player many considered as the heir apparent to former Stars Captain Victor Wanyama.
Pepeta has since learnt that the player hasn’t been registered by Arad as the club is currently facing a transfer ban from FIFA.
The team led by Alexandru Meszar has received new sanctions, after being already penalized with a player registration ban earlier in the season.
According to FIFA documents in our possession, one of the sanctions extends over three transfer windows, while the other two remain in effect until debts owed to former players are paid in full. This means that UTA cannot register any footballer-whether on transfer, loan or free transfer-until they have paid their outstanding obligations.
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The document reveals that UTA owes money to all the foreign players who left in the summer including Harambee Stars midfielder Eric Johana Omondi. Others owed by the club are Augustin Vuletich, Lamine Ghezali, Damien Dussaut, Khadim Rassoul, Ibrahima Conte, Paul Mpoku, Shayon Harrison and Nsungusi Effiong.
The sanctions mean the transfer of Odada from Dundee cannot be legitimized until the ban is lifted. While the club is obligated to pay the Kenyan according to his contract, the midfielder risks being sidelined for a long time.
Despite the struggles, the club has done fairly in the league where they are placed eighth with 22 points after 16 games.
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