AIFF disciplinary committee finally hands a NON-punishment to rule-breakers Mandar & Romeo
THE AIFF DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE handed out a non-punishment to Romeo Fernandes and Mandar Rao Dessai for failing to report to the national team preparatory camp ahead of the SAFF Championship in December.
The two players, who played for FC Goa in the ISL, went back to their parent club Dempo SC after the private tournament got over instead of joining the national team. This was during the height of controversy after the ISL final where Elano assaulted FC Goa co-owner Dattaraj Salgaocar and the whole Goa team boycotted the prize distribution ceremony in protest.
The official story from Dempo -- whose owner Srinivas Dempo is a co-owner of FC Goa as well as a vice president of AIFF -- was that both players were carrying injuries and hence could not attend the camp. But Indian national team coach Stephen Constantine did not buy it and openly criticised the players for not showing up and called the whole thing "shameful." Even AIFF president Praful Patel spoke out on the matter and said the Federation might have to take the "unfortunate" action of punishing the players for such violation.
Meanwhile Romeo and Mandar were placed under initial suspension and missed out on Dempo's remaining matches of the I-League 2nd Division (Western Conference) against Kenkre, Minerva, Lonestar Kashmir and PIFA Sports. Dempo qualified for the final round of the I-League 2nd Division quite easily.
The duo were show-caused by AIFF and it took a while to process the case; but a final hearing took place yesterday at Pune, after which Mandar and Romeo were found guilty and both received a 3-month suspension from all national level football tournaments, along with a fine of Rs 50,000 each. But that punishment took effect from 21st December 2015. Which means the two players have already served their terms and are free to join the squad in Sikkim, where they are supposed to begin their final round campaign by playing against Gangtok Himalayan FC on 26th March.
While it's good to see promising youngsters not being subjected to punishments that hinder their growth as a footballer, the virtual ineffectiveness of this punishment, coupled with the unusually long time it took AIFF to dish it out, is raising a few eyebrows. This decision seems to be in tune with the slap-on-the-wrist Rs 50 lakh fine FC Goa received for boycotting the ISL prize distribution, and in sharp contrast to the quick-fire 8 match (rest of the I-League season) ban Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen received for a 2-second comment criticizing the AIFF.
It will, however, come as a huge relief for Dempo, who are trying their best to get promoted back to the I-League after suffering the humiliation of relegation back in 2014-15. They club, which has fielded by far the most expensive team in the 2nd Division this season, has retained all their major players Jewel Raja, Laxmikant Kattimani and Peter Carvalho and even brought in foreigners like Josimar and Chika Wali, all of whom have a proven track record in the top division.
