I-League 2022-23: Real Kashmir To Approach Court Against AIFF's Order To Forfeit Match Points Against Churchill Brothers FC

The charge levelled against RKFC, popularly known as 'Snow Leopards', was that it played four foreign players on the ground violating the rule of playing only three foreigners and one Asian player during the match.

The Real Kashmir Football Club (RKFC) had defeated the Churchill Brothers Football Club by 1-0 in a match played on November 28 last year in Srinagar.

In the 64th minute, RKFC had wrongly called for a substitution of a player, but it was rectified within a minute by the club's head coach, Mehrajuddin Wadoo.

However, the "fourth official", who carries out the substitution request, and match referee had directed RKFC to carry out the substitution as stated on the board and not according to the amendment made by the coach, who was well within his right to do so, RKFC officials said.

Until the insistence of the "fourth official", the substitution had not taken place, and this was clearly seen from the submitted video evidence from a broadcaster, they said.

Churchill Brothers FC had approached the disciplinary committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that held a meeting and ruled in favour of RKFC on December 23 last year.

The disciplinary committee concluded that on the basis of its interpretation of the video evidence and its interpretation of the submissions of match officials, the substitution had not taken place as players had neither come in nor moved out of the ground.

"As the Real Kashmir FC made a further substitution, purportedly to remedy the apparent mistake it had made, the disciplinary committee also held that 'the substituted player entered the field only for two minutes' and further that no prejudice had been caused to Churchill Brothers FC as no goal had been scored during these two minutes'" the committee had noted.

However, the same videography evidence was termed as "inconclusive" by the AIFF's appeals committee and it directed RKFC to forfeit their I-League match against Churchill Brothers besides slapping a fine of Rs 60,000 against it.

"We are left with no other chance and we will approach the court for an early redressal of the AIFF's order which is unfair by all means to us," the spokesperson said.