IFA in a media conference on Wednesday at IFA revealed how Bengal under-17 girls were deprived of their qualification to the knock-out stage in the under-17 national championship held in Bhubaneswar. 

The IFA statement says, ‘In the above tournament, on 20th September Jharkhand team won a match against Bengal by 6-2 at OFA ground Bhubaneswar but, with a rider, using fraudulent registration of two over-aged players into the fold of their U-17 team , namely, Sangita Kumari and Priyatama Tirkey (they were registered as aged 15 years) but both later on through a protest lodged by us and by conduct of a medical examination by the authority as per rule on 23rd September at the GENX Diagnostics, SCIVC Campus, Bhubaneswar found to be aged approximately between 17-18 years. 

Jharkhand qualified for the knock-out stage being the group-topper with 9 points.’

The statement also mentioned, ‘our point of contention is that by using a process that is both manipulative and based on frauds the Jharkhand team has vitiated the whole process of the tournament and snatched the legitimacy and integrity out of the tournament that are supposed to be inherent in a tournament of a national scale. 

However by rejecting the protest lodged by the IFA, the tournament's Match-Commissioner has deprived the Bengal team a good chance of winning the tournament because Bengal team also scored 6 points excluding the forced defeat against Jharkhand on 20th September. 

The IFA has already lodged a protest in writing to the AIFF president on 24/09/2023, and awaiting the reply but unfortunately the very next morning of that the girls were made to pack up their belongings and were told to leave the hotel.’ 

The IFA has demanded the review of the controversial match.