Nicolai Adam's future with India U-17 hangs in balance after physical & mental harassment charges

THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING Nicolai Adam is reportedly reaching fever pitch with multiple media outlets reporting that lawyers, SAI officials and parents of some of the players in the India U-17 squad getting involved.

It all started with some of the players writing a letter to the AIFF alleging that Adam and his assistant Etibar Nizami have used objectionable language with players and even harrassed them. The extent and details of this allegations are yet to be fully known because everyone in the Indian FA is tight-lipped about this, but apparently it was bad enough for some players to threaten with a boycott of training sessions and concerned parents contacting AIFF regarding these complaints.

AIFF's first decision, reportedly taken at a meeting in President Praful Patel's house, was to ask Nicolai Adam to step down from his position as head coach. But the whole matter got further entangled when Adam demanded that he be paid his year's salary (approximately Rs 3.5 crore) in full which AIFF declined to do. 

At this point, officials from SAI who approved a big portion of the budget allocated for the training and exposure tours of the India U-17 team got involved, raising concerns about the whole operation falling apart if the coach is let go just months before the prestigious FIFA U-17 World Cup is held in this country. AIFF subsequently issued a denial of the news that Adam had been sacked. 

While none of the involved parties are speaking out about this matter, the situation is far from resolved. AIFF has brought in the Chairman of its Technical Committee, former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia, to look into these allegations, following which an official decision will be taken. Meanwhile, some sources claim that AIFF's scouting head Abhishek Yadav has been asked to talk to Adam in order to reach a quick resolution to this mess, which is to get Adam to resign his post and leave quietly.

It remains to be seen which direction the events take in the coming days. Much depends on how bad the allegations are, and how the staff who are entrusted to care for the U-17 team gauge from the players regarding the possibility of future positive relations between Adam and his boys. 

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