AIFF admits to CAS about its ‘League Committee’s incompetence to decide on Inter Kashi’s re-registration of Mario Barco!
Its own league committee was ill-equipped to decide on Inter Kashi’s re-registration of foreign player Mario Barco, the All India Football Federation conceded to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, in an apparent admission of a miscarriage of procedure while dealing with the issue that ultimately decided the I-League championship. According to reports from News9 Sports, the federation, through a 240-page document, argued why its appeal committee’s decision to deduct four points from Inter Kashi and declare Churchill Brothers as I-League champions was ‘legally sound’ and based on a correct interpretation of the I-League regulations. “The re-registration of Mr. Barco was impermissible under the governing rules, and the AIFF Appeals Committee rightly held that Inter Kashi FC had fielded an ineligible player and that the consequences under the AIFF Disciplinary Code and the AIFF Regulations on Status and Transfer of Players must follow,” AIFF said in its initial submission. The matter had landed in the lap of the appeal committee via the disciplinary committee after approval of re-registration from the league committee, whose opinion tainted the entire process, the federation told CAS. “…, the AIFF League Committee’s act of suggesting that the re-registration of Mr. Barco may be approved, in the absence of a statutory provision for exercising such authority, was null and void in law, incapable of being cured. Accordingly, the reliance placed by Inter Kashi FC on the League Committee’s opinion/suggestion is misconceived and untenable. The federation noted that, as per its statutes, an approval from the executive committee was needed for the league committee’s decisions or suggestions to come into effect, which didn’t happen in this instance. “The consequent step taken by the AIFF Competitions Department to enable the CMS portal should not in any manner be construed as its decision. Rather, each club is still liable to comply with the regulations and bears strict liability pertaining to rule violations. “…the AIFF League Committee is a committee empowered to make suggestions or decisions on league-related matters, which (when read in conjunction with the AIFF League Committee’s definition under Article 1.13 of the I-League Regulations) inherently require ratification or endorsement by the AIFF Executive Committee to acquire formal effect, particularly where such decisions impact the eligibility framework and regulatory integrity of the competition. “Notably, in the present case, no such ratification of the League Committee Opinion/suggestion for permitting Mr. Barco’s re-registration was ever placed on record or effected. “The League Committee has no independent adjudicatory or executive authority to render binding interpretations or grant approvals. Its jurisdiction is entirely recommendatory, and its outputs, at best, carry consultative value subject to further ratification by the competent bodies – in this case, the AIFF Executive Committee. “It is submitted that the AIFF League Committee, therefore, did not purport to pass a conclusive order or decision, but merely flagged a possibility that was neither ratified nor finalized by any competent authority, including the AIFF Executive Committee.”
Inter Kashi delighted to have the ‘reward’ of justice; Churchill Brothers find ‘sheer conspiracy’ by the AIFF!
Sudeep Pakrashi: Inter Kashi president Prithijit Das, elated with the CAS decision on Friday, said, “We won the last match of the I-League. It was won on the pitch and we were awarded by the highest court of justice.” For the second time within one month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the All India Football Federation’s appeal committee’s decision to rule in favour of Inter Kashi and make them champions of the I-League. “The appeal filed on 4 June 2025 by Inter Kashi FC against the decision issued on 31 May 2025 by the Appeal Committee of the All-India Football Federation is partially upheld. “The decision issued on 31 May 2025 by the Appeal Committee of the All-India Football Federation is set aside. The AIFF shall forthwith declare Inter Kashi FC as the winner of the I-League 2024-25 season,” sole arbitrator Frans de Weger ruled in the CAS order. The I-League points table would be adjusted with Kashi finishing on top with 42 points, two ahead of Churchill, with Kashmir third on 37, and Namdari fourth with 29. CAS also directed that the AIFF will bear 55 percent of the costs of the arbitration, with the remaining 45 percent equally divided among Chuchill, Namdhari, and Kashmir (15 percent each), and it would be served to the parties separately. The AIFF would also have to pay CHF 3,000 (around Rs 3.22 lakh) while Churchill, Namdhari, and Kashmir have to shell out CHF 1,000 (around Rs 1.07 lakh) to Kashi as legal contribution for costs and other expenses incurred during these arbitral proceedings. However, the Inter Kashi president added, commenting, “It is a great day not for Inter Kashi, but for Indian football. The other new football clubs that are willing to come up will be inspired by the decision. More importantly, the investors who are with these new football clubs will not lose interest after a new club wins the I-League title after overcoming several obstructions which were created by a few other I-League clubs.” Simultaneously, the president’s advice to those clubs who lodged complaints against Inter Kashi for fielding their foreign recruit, Mario Barco, illegally in the second phase of the League, was that “Mario Barco was re-registered in the AIFF and he played in seven matches in the second phase of the League. The clubs should try to know the truth from AIFF instead of moving to the court.” Churchill Brothers, the Goan club, had already been handed over the I-League trophy and announced I-League champions by the AIFF president in a ceremony in Goa and even in the executive committee meeting on 7th April. Churchill Alemao, the club’s founder and the president, shocked and irked with Friday’s decision, explained, “It is a ‘sheer conspiracy’ by the AIFF. They gave us the I-League trophy at a function in Goa. They announced us as League champions in the executive committee meeting on 7th April. But they have not yet given us the prize money! We had assumed what was going on. Why did AIFF not let us know about the re-registration of their foreign footballer at that time? I have spent so much money on football throughout my life, and AIFF cheated me!” Alemao also raised questions about how CAS intervened in the matter. Did CAS solve Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini’s corruption? When India have the highest court, then why did they move to CAS? However, it is believed that Churchill Brothers have started planning to make a strong protest against the decision, and they might even move to the Supreme Court.
