I-League teams played their last games of the season yesterday, but despite the league’s conclusion, the winner remains undecided. Churchill Brothers and Inter Kashi FC, by winning their last games, finished top two on the table with 41 points and 39 points respectively; yet the final whistle is still to be blown by the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) Appeals Committee, which is currently reviewing a complaint raised by Inter Kashi earlier in the season that could potentially award Inter Kashi an additional three points and make them champions.
What could have been resolved by now, has been unnecessarily delayed by the Appeals Committee, which has not only clouded the league’s conclusion but also reignited concerns about the administrative efficiency of Indian football governance. The entire drama that has led to the present fiasco started from the match between Namdhari FC and Inter Kashi FC, where Inter Kashi lost 2-0. The controversy erupted after Inter Kashi registered a complaint against Namdhari FC for fielding their Brazilian forward Cledson Carvalho da Silva—whom Inter Kashi claimed was ineligible due to having received four yellow cards prior to that match. According to I-League regulations, getting 4 yellow cards warrants an automatic one-match suspension. Basis the complaint, AIFF Disciplinary Committee accordingly found Namdhari FC’s act of playing an ineligible player, to be violative of Article 12.3.2 and resultantly forfeited the match 0-3 in favour of Inter Kashi, while also awarding them three points. Namdhari FC appealed against the decision of the Disciplinary committee asserting that their decision was based on the information provided on AIFF’s own Competition Management System (CMS) (the official online portal used to track player suspensions / eligibility); which did not flag the player to be suspended before the match, and hence led them to believe his eligibility to play him. Namdhari FC officials also claimed that they had in fact got verbal allowance from I League officials to play the concerned player, and thus there was no intentional breach from their end.
The Appeals Committee, having found merit in Namdhari FC arguments, decided to stay the disciplinary order, effectively putting the entire issue “in abeyance”, until it hears the case in detail on coming 28th April. Resultantly, the three points which were forfeited, were provisionally restored to Namdhari and deducted from Inter Kashi’s tally, which has now left the league result in limbo. In any other case, this intervention by the Appeals Committee would have been a footnote had the season finale not unfolded with such drama. Churchill Brothers were held to a 1-1 draw in their final match, finishing with 40 points. Simultaneously, Inter Kashi pulled off a sensational 3-1 win with two stoppage-time goals, bringing their total to 39 points—just one short of Churchill. The unawarded three points, now tied up in the appeal, have thus become the deciding factor in who claims the title.
The rule in contention here is not that of technicality or of special knowledge. Anyone who follows football is aware that if any player accumulates four yellow cards, he/she is required to serve a one-match suspension. Cledson, having picked up his fourth yellow, should have been sidelined for the Inter Kashi match. The AIFF Disciplinary Code also mandates an automatic forfeit if a suspended player is fielded. However, Namdhari FC defence hinges on the error in the CMS portal, which as per the club failed to reflect the suspension status accurately. Many believe that the error in the CMS system may have been influenced by the fact that Cledson had previously been handed a three-match ban for a direct red card in December, against which he appealed on procedural grounds, leading to the Appeals Committee granted him interim relief; which may have caused the CMS to miss the subsequent yellow-card suspension.