Ivorian striker Bernard Yao Kouassi has offered his side of the story to the events that have ultimately left TS Galaxy with a FIFA-imposed transfer ban.

Since FIFA updated the transfer ban on Monday, Yao Kouassi has spent the week as the focal point of discussion in interviews that Galaxy boss Tim Sukazi has had.

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Sukazi has spoken extensively on Yao Kouassi this week and was quoted as labelling him a con artist.

Late on Wednesday, KickOff received a call from Yao Kouassi, who is now playing for Rivers United in Nigeria.

"TS Galaxy put me through a lot of suffering, which included almost ending up in jail and going for days without food," Kouassi tells this website in his response.

"I had a pre-contract offer in India when TS Galaxy pressed for me to abandon that option and come to South Africa. 

"The arrangement was that instead of finalizing the deal in India, I was coming to sign a contract at TS Galaxy as they had been impressed of the videos that they had seen of me.

"Then when I got here, I was accommodated and then told I would have to be assessed.

"It was after five days that the coach said I should be signed.

"I then explained who (SC Bengaluru) I had played for was in India and since then I had agreed to a pre-contract with another team, so I don't know if they had registered me. 

"I made myself clear to them and provided whatever they needed, but they only requested the ITC on the last day of the transfer window, yet I had signed on January 17, 2023.

"With this being a process, it meant they missed the deadline, and I could only be registered in June, but they said I can go back home.

"That is when my troubles started.

"I told them that since I have already signed a contract and have wasted more than a month here, it is only fair that I get two months' salary for the sake of my family.

"My visa that I had used to enter the country was expiring and from what they said, they had my work permit with them, but the people at the airport refused to hear about that.

"I was advised to then leave the country, but by the time I got to the airport, my visa had expired and I was nearly put in jail after having had no food for days.

"I was then blacklisted and banned from South Africa for one year.

"I suffered a lot because of TS Galaxy because when all these problems of the ITC papers started, they didn't give me money for food anymore. 

"After all of this happened, my lawyer took up the case with FIFA and won it and it was the same when we went to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Court) after they appealed there.

"FIFA are not stupid and if they say I have won the case, they have their reasons.

"I signed the contract on January 17, 2023, and FIFA told them there was enough time to register me before January 31, 2023, when the window closed.

"For two weeks, they didn't do anything.       

"I didn't want this to get this far because all I asked for was two months' salary, but they refused and preferred to treat me bad.

"Remember, I paid for my own flight ticket to come to South Africa and had to suffer without food on some days.

"They must now pay USD98 000 (approx. USD1,77 million).

"I mean, they chose to pay USD30 000 (approx. R543 000) money to CAS instead of negotiating with me to settle this. 

"If he had negotiated with me and paid that USD30 000, then I would have agreed, but they chose to take whatever route they want and now it is too late.

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"They were meant to pay me on June 10, but they didn't, which is why they now have a transfer ban. 

"Right now, I will only take the full payment to have the ban on them lifted.

"Some people will call me names as a foreigner, but I signed a contract and was ill-treated by this club going for days without food and almost ended up in prison," details Yao Kouassi.