Indian football icon Bhaichung Bhutia has requested the All India Football Federation to include numerous allegations of financial misuse by AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey and his several questionable decisions since coming to power in its annual general meeting’s agenda.
In a mail that has been seen by News9 Sports, the former India captain has raised seven points that he wishes to be discussed in the AGM in Itanagar on March 10.
Bhutia wants deliberations on AIFF’s legal head Nilanjan Bhattacharjee’s explosive mail in which he expressed his inability to pay a part of his remuneration to the president’s office owing to pending salaries and ignorance of his advice when agreeing into unfavourable deals with Indigo airlines and irregularities in the tender process of last season’s I-League production.
The 47-year-old, an AIFF executive committee member, also wishes a discussion on India’s decision of withdrawing its bid for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup’s hosting rights despite the Union government spending Rs 72 lakh on pre-bid expenses.
Being in the ExCo, however, prevents him from initiating any discussion in the meeting but he hopes state officials will take cue from his mail to pose questions on these pressing issues, News9 Sports further reports.
“Who has to bear the pre-bid expenses. Was the government of India informed before the withdrawal? Please note the Kiren Rijiju had launched the hosting bid,” he wrote on Wednesday.
Bhutia has also wondered whether the AIFF took permission from the government to host the Santosh Trophy in a different nation (two semi-finals and the final were held in Saudi Arabia).
“Why the president and GS (sacked former general secretary Shaji Prabhakaran) travelled to Saudi Arabia without invitation. That too within 45 days of getting elected for a period of three months as per the honourable Supreme Court order,” he asked.
Chaubey became AIFF president beating Bhutia 1-33 on September 2, 2022 and the AIFF withdrew its bid on December 5 later that year, leaving Saudi Arabia as the only bidder interested in hosting the big-ticket event, following which the three knockout matches of the national championship were held in the Gulf kingdom.
The federation sacked its secretary Prabhakaran on November 9 last year citing “breach of trust”, which has hitherto remained unexplained.
Bhutia wants “details of the legal expenses for handling the Prabhakaran matter in the Delhi High Court” to be brought up at the AGM as well as allegations of “financial irregularities in tendering, salaries travel etc”.
The former striker had demanded the removal of Chaubey and fellow accused treasurer Ajay Kipa at its executive committee meeting on January 30, in which the AIFF’s executive committee approved Prabhakaran’s sacking as per the court’s order, and kept up the pressure on the duo through the mail on Wednesday, the last day to submit proposals for discussion, the News9 Sports report concludes.
