<p>It appears all is not well between Australian midfielder Erik Paartalu and Bengaluru FC after a statement from Professional Footballers Australia - the body that represents the Australian footballers - came out accusing the club of excluding him from training and ignoring his requests to return.</p>.<p>BFC are currently preparing for their AFC Cup playoff clash against Eagles FC on August 15 in Maldives.</p>.<p>“Erik remains a contracted player of Bengaluru FC and is committed to fulfilling his obligations in that respect. Disappointingly, the club is currently excluding him from training and ignoring his repeated requests for arrangements to be made for his return.</p>.<p>“Accordingly, any suggestion that Erik has simply not reported for training, or that he is purposefully absent, is incorrect. The club has been reminded that it is Erik’s fundamental right as a professional footballer that he be given access to training and the opportunity to compete in official matches with his team-mates,” the statement read.</p>.<p>The club refused to comment on the issue. Paartalu, a key cog in BFC midfield for the past four seasons, has a year left on his contract.</p>.<p>In May, Bengaluru’s AFC Cup playoff was called off after reports of a breach of Covid-19 protocols emerged from Male. A photo of the report had shown Paartalu, along with two others outdoors. BFC owner Parth Jindal had apologised for the ‘behavior of three of our foreign players/staff’ while in Male and had promised to take strict action against the offenders.</p>
<p>It appears all is not well between Australian midfielder Erik Paartalu and Bengaluru FC after a statement from Professional Footballers Australia - the body that represents the Australian footballers - came out accusing the club of excluding him from training and ignoring his requests to return.</p>.<p>BFC are currently preparing for their AFC Cup playoff clash against Eagles FC on August 15 in Maldives.</p>.<p>“Erik remains a contracted player of Bengaluru FC and is committed to fulfilling his obligations in that respect. Disappointingly, the club is currently excluding him from training and ignoring his repeated requests for arrangements to be made for his return.</p>.<p>“Accordingly, any suggestion that Erik has simply not reported for training, or that he is purposefully absent, is incorrect. The club has been reminded that it is Erik’s fundamental right as a professional footballer that he be given access to training and the opportunity to compete in official matches with his team-mates,” the statement read.</p>.<p>The club refused to comment on the issue. Paartalu, a key cog in BFC midfield for the past four seasons, has a year left on his contract.</p>.<p>In May, Bengaluru’s AFC Cup playoff was called off after reports of a breach of Covid-19 protocols emerged from Male. A photo of the report had shown Paartalu, along with two others outdoors. BFC owner Parth Jindal had apologised for the ‘behavior of three of our foreign players/staff’ while in Male and had promised to take strict action against the offenders.</p>