NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation Monday disqualified Hyderya Sports Kashmir FC, one of the 10 teams slated to play in the Hero I-League qualifiers, after the club was deemed guilty of having produced a fake bank guarantee, one of the criteria for competing in the I-league.
The I-League qualifiers are scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from October 4.
AIFF had asked all interested clubs to submit a bank guarantee of Rs 2.5 million as part of the eligibility criteria for taking part for the I-League qualifiers.
The AIFF also declared that it “reserves its rights to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the club” for its alleged fraud.
Of the 29 teams that had applied, only 12 cleared all the club licensing eligibility norms, which included Hyderya Sports, news18.com reports.
The two teams that cleared the licensing and didn’t make the final 10 were Garhwal FC and PIFA Sports FC. Due to the ‘one state one club’ rule, the two teams that finished higher in their respective state leagues – Delhi FC and Kenkre FC – were given the nod from New Delhi and Maharashtra respectively.
AIFF statement:
AIFF would like to inform all the stakeholders of Hero I League Qualifiers 2021 (the “League”) that upon receiving several complaints regarding the genuineness of a bank guarantee submitted by Hyderya Sports Kashmir FC, the AIFF initiated an enquiry into the matter.
The inquiry revealed that the bank guarantee so received was not genuine and that the bank guarantee was never officially issued by the bank named therein.The bank guarantee was one of the mandatory requirements to be eligible to participate in the League, which was to be submitted within a specified timeline. The said timeline now stands elapsed and the mandatory requirement has not been fulfilled by the said club. In light of the same Hyderya’s participation in the League stands withdrawn with immediate effect.
Furthermore, the AIFF reserves its rights to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the club.
The AIFF will not be making any further statement on this matter.
