Inter Kashi to take AIFF to CAS again

I-League club Inter Kashi will knock on the doors of the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) for the second time in the space of a month. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) Appeal Committee on Saturday ruled that Inter fielded an ineligible player and will lose points on the league table as a consequence.

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The Appeal Committee ordered that Mario Barco Vilar, who was let go and then re-registered by Inter, was wrongfully allowed to participate in their matches against Namdhari XI, Churchill Brothers and Real Kashmir FC.

Bizarrely, the AIFF's League Committee, the body that is constituted to run the league, had cleared Vilar's re-registration on February 15. And now, Inter has decided to approach CAS against the Appeal Committee's arbitrary decision.

"Inter Kashi acknowledges the decision of the AIFF Appeals Committee, and welcomes the timely disposal of the matter which will now allow the Club to appeal the same at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). While it is unfortunate that Inter Kashi has to approach CAS yet again for a truly free and fair hearing of the matter, it seems to be the new reality of Indian Football," Inter said in a statement.

"The Club is flabbergasted that such simple rules and regulations can be twisted and misinterpreted in such a manner through which the Club is now suffering without any fault of its own. Inter Kashi states in unequivocal terms that the Club has always followed the League Regulations by which it is bound in both letter and spirit," the statement added.

Many within the AIFF were taken aback by the way this issue was handled. "League Committee is the highest authority to run the game, the Appeal Committee has no jurisdiction here," said a source.

This would be the second case in CAS involving Inter Kashi. The club has already lodged a case against the AIFF for a disputed call that has huge bearing on the I-League title. Inter Kashi registered a complaint against Namdhari for playing an ineligible player in the 0-2 loss in January. Inter claimed their opponents fielded Cledson Carvalho da Silva, who should have been suspended after four yellow cards. The AIFF Disciplinary Committee then ruled the match as a forfeit against Namdhari and docked three points. However, the AIFF Appeal Committee stayed the decision to dock points.

The decision meant that Churchill Brothers finished the league on top with 40 points, one more than Inter.