Coulibaly move to Partick Thistle blocked by Egyptian FA
The club and the Scottish FA are pushing to gain international clearance for the forward.
Partick Thistle have revealed that they are still unable to field Souleymane Coulibaly after the Egyptian FA blocked his transfer.
The forward moved to Egyptian giants Al Ahly in 2017 from Kilmarnock but the move quickly turned sour with Coulibaly claiming he was badly treated and quitting the club.
A FIFA commission found in the Egyptian club's favour and awarded a fine, to be paid by Coulibaly. Al Ahly say the player would not be released to play for anyone else until the fine is paid.
Thistle signed the player in August, though they are not contracted to pay him until the situation is resolved, and have been working to obtain clearance for him to continue his career at Firhill.
However, the request has been rejected by the Egyptian governing body and the SFA are now working with Thistle to overturn their move.
In a statement on the club website, a Thistle spokesperson said: "The Egyptian Football Association has confirmed that it has refused to grant an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) for Souleymane Coulibaly's proposed move to Partick Thistle Football Club.
"Despite being obliged to reply within seven days relative to a request for an ITC, the Egyptian FA has waited until the 14th day to refuse the request. As such, the Scottish FA has now asked FIFA to reject the refusal. Subsequently the Egyptian FA has been given until Friday (21/09) to provide additional information requested by the wold governing body.
"Given that the ITC would have been granted automatically after 15 days if the Egyptian FA had not responded, Souleymane is understandably once again frustrated by the whole process. Both the club and the Scottish FA have compiled submissions to back Souleymane's case against the refusal.
"The current contractual provision in place means the Club is not required to make any financial outlay to Souleymane until his registration is approved.
"The club remains hopeful that a positive outcome will be achieved and will continue to update supporters on the process as and when there is any progression."