New Delhi: A comprehensive and impartial probe has been demanded over the circumstances in which the All India Football Federation decided to hand over the I-League trophy to Churchill Brothers on Sunday in spite of a stay order on it from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
At a plush hotel in South Goa, the AIFF deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan coronated Churchill with the winners trophy at around 4 pm, acting on its appeal committee directive dated April 18 to regard them as champions and hold a prize distribution ceremony.
On April 22, Inter Kashi had challenged that appeal committee judgement at the Lausanne-based CAS, which in its interim order on Sunday issued a stay on it and preventing the AIFF from holding an award ceremony.
The AIFF, though, went ahead with the event, which initially was supposed to be held in Bhubaneswar, where the Super Cup is being held currently and later put out a statement saying they were intimated of CAS’ order after the ceremony’s conclusion “…due to a holiday in the AIFF Secretariat. The AIFF remains committed to adhering to all regulatory and legal processes and will take appropriate action.”
This claim has been questioned by Goa Football Association president Caitano Fernandes, who presided over an executive committee meeting of the state body on Monday and sent a letter to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey demanding an immediate investigation into:
1. The reasons behind the failure to communicate the trophy presentation details to the Goa Football Association.
2. The motivations and instructions behind the apparent deliberate exclusion of the GFA and its president from this significant event.
3. The veracity of the reports regarding the CAS order staying the trophy presentation and if true, the rationale behind proceeding with the event.
Churchill Brothers players celebrate with the I-League trophy. Photo: Special Arrangement
Oversight?
Fernandes demanded immediate attention to a series of “deeply concerning events” that he believes have caused “significant embarrassment” to the AIFF and demonstrated an “unacceptable level of mistreatment” towards the GFA.
Narrating the chain of events after being excluded from the programme, Fernandes, also a member of AIFF’s league committee, said he received a mail of invitation to the event from Satyanarayan at approximately 11 pm on Saturday (April 26).
The e-mail stated that the venue and specific schedule would be confirmed upon Satyanarayan’s arrival in Goa from Delhi. But he claimed to have received no further communication regarding the trophy presentation, which was conducted in his absence.
“When I subsequently contacted Mr. Satyanaryanan to understand this egregious oversight, his explanations were unconvincing and frankly, unacceptable,” he said, viewing the omission as an “affront” to GFA and personally him to as president.
Since ignoring a CAS order could have severe consequences for the AIFF and Indian football’s reputation on the international stage, Fernandes urged the federation president and its executive committee not to ignore the “potential flouting”.
“The credibility of the AIFF and its relationship with its member state associations are at stake,” he wrote as a reminder.
As respondents to Kashi’s case, CAS has ordered the AIFF, Churchill and Namdhari FC to file their replied by Tuesday (April 29).
AIFF coronated Churchill Brothers with the I-League winners trophy on Sunday and claimed holiday at its secretariat for late intimation of a CAS order that put a stay on the presentation programme. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
