AIFF committee meeting to discuss age fraud, match-fixing allegations and I-League clubs’ protest

04/12/2019

The AIFF league meeting could be significant in building a roadmap for Indian football’s future as it would cover topics like the increase in age-fraud, the match-fixing allegations for the final I-League match, and the long protest that the I-League clubs have staged owing to the league's future.

While AIFF President becoming the first Indian to get elected in the FIFA Council has been a huge progress for Indian football, it has also been infested with serious issues one after another over the last month. The latest such example was a plethora of junior players failing TW3 (Tanner-Whitehouse3) bone age determination test from all the northeast clubs, including former I-League champions Aizawl FC, Shillong Lajong and NEROCA FC.

It prompted the federation to stop all of them from participating in the U-13 League with immediate effect. Apart from the northeast clubs, most players from Minerva Punjab FC’s U-13 team had also failed the test and PTI has reported that it would be a burning issue in the federation’s league committee when it would be meeting in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

“The issue of bone age test will be discussed in the meeting, they could look at various ways so that situations surrounding this can be prevented in the future. Also, the clubs will be notified about the same so that they take the issue very seriously,” a source said, reported PTI.

The biggest discussion of the meeting, however, would be the future of the I-League clubs who have been in the dark for over a month. After Patel failed to have a meeting with the clubs concerning their future almost all I-League clubs, barring Chennai City FC and Real Kashmir, decided to pull out of the AIFF Super Cup.

Reports have also surfaced that AIFF wasn’t happy with the move, as it resulted in the federation suffering financial loss, and could very well impose fines and punishments on the clubs - Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Churchill Brothers, Aizawl FC, Minerva FC, Gokulam FC and NEROCA FC. As per rule 10.4 of the Super Cup regulations, the clubs pulling be facing a heavy penalty.

Apart from this, there was also a bizarre match-fixing allegation on the final day I-League fixture between Minerva Punjab and Chennai City FC that the committee would have to discuss. The AIFF had already launched an inquiry after the match commissioner Balasubramanaiam was skeptical that the match was “not played in true spirit”.

The match between Minerva Punjab and Real Kashmir FC, which didn’t take place following Punjab’s refusal to travel to Srinagar after the Pulwama terror attack, would also be a discussion.

AIFF committee meeting to discuss age fraud, match-fixing allegations and I-League clubs’ protest

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