Torquay United accused of fraud and forgery by former player

Torquay United have been accused of forgery and fraud by a former player of theirs in quite astonishing claims this week.

Kalvin Lumbombo-Kalala, who used to play for the National League club, filed an official complaint to the French courts on the 23rd of December 2020, in relation to a document he claims he did not sign or receive.

The 22-year-old states that his previous contract at the Gulls was due to expire on the 2nd of May 2020, after which his deal was to be renewed.

However Lumbombo-Kalala says that he never received a formal offer for him to reply to, which then got him approaching rival clubs for employment.

After getting numerous refusals by clubs to sign him, Lumbombo-Kalala found out from potential new teams that he was still under contract with Torquay United, even though his deal expired in May.

It is claimed that on 12th of October of last year, and after multiple attempts at negotiations, Torquay presented him with a document refusing their contract extension offer.

The player insists that he never got or signed the form, which would have entitled Torquay to compensation from any club signing him.

The complaint was sent to the French judicial courts and have been made on the grounds of forgery, use of forgery and attempted fraud against any unnamed person whose name could be revealed by a police or judicial investigation according to the Daily Mail.

The player’s complaint is currently being sorted by Emmanuel Daoud from the law-firm Vigo Avocats, based in Paris, who have confirmed the filing of the criminal complaint.

The prosecutor will now have to decide if there should be a police investigation so that the player, his agent or Torquay United can be interviewed by the judicial police.

If those prosecutor decides again that, or stops the proceedings within three months, Lumbombo-Kalala and his advisors will have the option to ask for the opening of a judicial investigation.

👀 https://t.co/JXvt6r6ow7

— TORQUAYTALK (@TORQUAYTALK) January 28, 2021

In a statement provided to Sportsmail, Lumbombo-Kalala said: ‘Not only has this taken a toll on my mental and physical health. This situation has effected everyone close to me.

‘I haven’t been able to support my family as I normally would and I’ve felt every struggle possible. I’m having to start from the bottom again. Being out of the game for nearly a year is really hard.

‘Football is my life and the thing that keeps me going, but I have had to remain positive and I can’t wait to be back.’

Fans reacted after seeing that Torquay United are accused of forgery and fraud by their former player, see what they had to say…

@Zakwtufc: Couldn’t wait to play for Fulham under 23s that went up in smoke

@McFarlane_Carl: Faking a signature? What about the time when he faked an injury after giving the ball away at Yeovil (In the pissing rain) last year which they then scored from? Tosser, no I haven’t or won’t ever forgive him for that 🤬 all the skill but a bad egg.

@Elliotmilner03: A real shame, I liked him as a player but he made it quite apparent to the club and on social media that he wanted to move on.

Maybe I’m misunderstanding. It would be unusual for a club to guarantee contract renewal, when their contract expires, no? And was made very clear he was off when Reidy went. I reckon just struggled to find a club at the level he thought he was at, so now, this GIF is applicable. pic.twitter.com/8BKZC0hbzi

— Kyle (@upthegulls94) January 28, 2021

@J_GRANT1109: That’s how I understand it too. Baring in mind he signed two contacts while being a club but I would imagine while signing them he had no agent. Then during last season he got an agent who started sniffing around for a football league club which has backfired!

@MattyHayward96: Imvvvvho, we should just see what happens re:Kalala and stop making wild assertions about him taking the piss/being a “bad egg” before an investigation has even been opened. We don’t have to be so tribal as to slag off anyone who thinks TUFC might be in the wrong!

@MattyHayward96: It might be bollocks, he might have made it all up. Or, he might be well within his rights to be making these accusations. Why don’t we just… see what happens?

@MattyHayward96: Of course the (Torquay United) Facebook group is awash with verdicts on this already. He had a trial (with Johnson’s consent!) at Fulham so he’s now some sort of pariah who had always planned a vicious attack on TUFC. Truly pathetic.