New Delhi: Disagreements have risen within the All India Football Federation over the method adopted for seeding of clubs for the upcoming Super Cup that made Churchill Brothers withdraw from the competition in protest.
Churchill were drawn to face Indian Super League champions Mohun Bagan in the pre-quarterfinal stage on its opening day on April 20. But on April 12 the Goan side blamed the federation for failing to undertake a transparent method to seed opponents and pulled out.
It reduced the tournament to 15 teams after the AIFF clubbed 13 ISL sides and I-League’s top three clubs as per the provisional standings into a draw of the lots for knockout matches that would be played in Bhubaneswar.
Through their letter to president Kalyan Chaubey, Churchill pointed out that while ISL sides were ranked as the per 2024-25 ISL standings for Super Cup’s seeding process, it wasn’t followed for the I-League.
As Churchill stood on top of the standings provisionally, they ought to have been the 14th seed, but instead it was allotted to Inter Kashi through an “opaque draw of lots”.
The treatment left Churchill exasperated as they accused the AIFF of “giving legitimacy” to the “patently false claim” of Kashi being champions of the 2024-25 I-League.
Argument
The confusion and ensuing criticism forced Chaubey to call for a meeting of the head of departments (HoDs) on Tuesday and speak with a staff of the competitions department of the federation, News9 Sports can confirm.
Chaubey enquired about the method used to determine the seedings and demanded an explanation on why Kashi were placed above Churchill. He was informed that since the current I-League standings are provisional and could change depending on an appeals committee judgement, it was thought to be prudent not to tamper with the initial seedings in which Kashi were placed over Churchill.
Chaubey was unhappy with the explanation provided and got involved in a verbal argument with the competitions department staff, indicating the kind of pressure the AIFF is under on this issue.
The I-League ended on April 6 with Churchill on 40 points from 22 matches, a point ahead of Kashi, who were awarded an additional three points by AIFF’s disciplinary committee after Namdhari FC were judged to have fielded an ineligible player in their 2-0 win over Kashi.
The ruling was put on hold by AIFF’s appeals committee who heard the matter on April 12 and scheduled another hearing for April 18 with petitioners Namdhari.
It is the first time that the I-League ended without a winner as both Churchill and Kashi celebrated their victories in anticipation of a favourable appeals committee judgement.
The AIFF identified Churchill to be on top provisionally while also explaining how Kashi could be the winner if the verdict goes in their favour.
Chaubey identified Churchill as the champions in response to a query from Bhaichung Bhutia at AIFF’s executive committee meeting on April 7.
But the declaration could be further delayed as multiple clubs have lodged complaints against each other over fielding of ineligible players, with the disciplinary committee yet to fix a date for hearing of those complaints.
Six I-league clubs, including Churchill, have also alleged that a Kashi official resorted to “unethical practices” while seeking favours for the club and questioned multiple refereeing decisions over the course of the competition.
Churchill were drawn to face Mohun Bagan in the pre-quarterfinal stage on Super Cup’s opening day on April 20 but pulled out after blaming the AIFF for failing to undertake a transparent method to seed opponents Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
