Bengaluru: Following their impressive show in the Federation Cup quarterfinal round where they eliminated defending champions Bengaluru FC, Jahar Das, head coach of Aizawl FC made a strong statement against AIFF and their relegation rules.
Das had previously appealed to the AIFF that the club, who has a strong fan following, should be saved from relegation for the ‘betterment of Indian football.’
The Mizoram team had been relegated from the I-League, despite finishing eighth, due to DSK Shivajians, who finished at the bottom of the table, being exempted from relegation as a corporate entry team.
Following their 5-3 aggregate win over BFC, Das said: “We never wanted to win the Federation Cup. We only wanted to show our strengths. How can a team that was relegated defeat the champions twice? Something somewhere (in the system) is definitely wrong. People protest in different ways and we are protesting with our performance to show that we don’t deserve relegation. We are not even saying that they are going to consider it, but we are going to prove that the system was wrong.”
“Aizawl FC, after playing years after years in the second division, has been promoted. How can a team suddenly come and be given relegation safety? From where does this rule come? In which part of the world
does this rule exist?” he questioned.
He also stated that a letter will be sent to AIFF to make the matter official and to request them to exempt the Mizoram side from relegation. “The letter will go not only from the club, but also go from the Chief Minister and Governor of Mizoram. Letter only from the club will not be sufficient for us.”
Aizawl has a squad nearly completely consisting of local players and have done well in a season which saw many heavy hitters coming under the treat of relegation in what would be one of the best seasons since the inception of the I-League.
I-League CEO Sunando Dhar said that they are yet to receive the letter. “I have not received any letter yet, but I am not sure if the AIFF president or any other members have. The decision on the matter will be taken in the next executive committee meeting, provided we receive the letter beforehand,” he stated.
