HomeFootballIndia will face FIFA ban again if the impasse is not resolved quickly
Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency, Kolkata: India will face FIFA ban again if the impasse is not resolved quickly
Allsport Desk: Earlier, India faced FIFA ban once again due to the court's intervention to resolve the internal turmoil of the Indian Football Federation. This time, the prospect of FIFA ban again may come if the recent impasse surrounding Indian domestic football is not resolved quickly.
The issue of the federation's revised constitution is awaiting the Supreme Court's verdict since 2022. Despite repeated reminders from FIFA, there has been no resolution to the matter yet. On the contrary, the Indian football season has been suspended indefinitely due to a dispute over the master rights agreement between the AIFF and FSDL, which is responsible for managing the ISL. This has really upset the AFC and FIFA. In a veiled threat, the AFC and FIFA have told the Indian Football Federation that India will face expulsion if it does not end this impasse quickly.
On Monday, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, understanding the seriousness of the situation, allowed the AIFF and FSDL to resolve the Master Rights Agreement issues through discussions among themselves, without waiting for the amended constitution to come into effect. The final verdict is likely to be given in the next hearing on August 28. An AFC official said that the FIFA ban on India was imposed on August 16, 2022 due to third-party interference. If the delay in the domestic season in India continues this time and no solution is found even on August 28, then it is not impossible for FIFA to face expulsion. Club operations are being stopped. Footballers and staff are not getting their salaries. The FIFA transfer window expires on August 31. All this is FIFA's displeasure.
Everyone is worried about the future of domestic football in India. Despite being elated after winning the Durand Cup by defeating Diamond Harbour in the final in Kolkata, NorthEast United coach Pedro Benali did not hide his anxiety about the next game. He told the media, "The joy of winning the Durand Cup will last for a few days. Then we really don't know what the next tournament is going to be? Super Cup, or ISL? I know that the deadlock in Indian football can be broken by the country's highest court on August 28. Let it happen. Otherwise, we will all be in a lot of trouble." The same thing has been heard from East Bengal coach Oscar Brujon and Diamond Harbour coach Kibu Vicuna. The red and yellow coach has given the footballers 7 days off due to the uncertainty surrounding the ISL. He is also looking forward to the Supreme Court hearing on August 28. He hopes that the situation will be resolved in the meantime. The ball will roll on the field. After knowing that decision, he will ask the footballers to fight again in practice. Diamond Harbour coach Kibu Vicunao said, "He doesn't know what the next tournament is? Where and when will their senior team play? The I-League First Division game is delayed. If the Super Cup is held before that, the footballers will get a chance to play. He is surprised by the work of the Indian Football Federation. The famous football playing countries around the world have a schedule for the whole year. All the games are played accordingly. The teams can prepare themselves accordingly. And there is no harm in all this in India. Let alone a specific schedule, everyone is very skeptical about whether any games will be played at all. Is it possible for Indian football to improve in this way?"