AIFF's attitude on Bhutia issue flayed

Decks were cleared for Baichung Bhutia to play for East Bengal in the I-League, but disconcerting voices have come out from within the All India Football Federation on the "lackadaisical" manner in which the AIFF has handled the issue.

A top official of the AIFF has questioned how the Executive Committee's decision to endorse a legal opinion to speed up a decision on the issue had been changed and an arbitrator appointed instead.

"It is good that the decision has gone in Baichung Bhutia's favour and he will start playing. But the AIFF should have taken a decision faster. Due to the AIFF's lackadaisical manner of dealing with the issue, a national icon lost four crucial months and he could not play in the IFA Shield and Durand Cup," the official said.

"The Players' Status Committee could not decide the matter and the Executive Committee (on August 30) took the decision that legal opinion will be taken and the AIFF would endorse it. That was done to speed up the matter, but I don't know how the decision was changed to refer it to an arbitrator," he said.

The official also said Bagan's contention that Bhutia cannot sign for another club, as the arbitrator has not ruled out that his contract with the green-and-maroon brigade was invalid, has no logic, as what matters is whether the agreement was registered with the Indian Football Association (West Bengal body) or not.

"Even if Bagan claimed that they signed an agreement with Bhutia for 2009-10, it was not registered with the IFA. So Bhutia cannot be stopped from signing with East Bengal," he said.

On Wednesday Bhutia signed an agreement with East Bengal at the IFA office in Kolkata after the West Bengal football body got the go-ahead from the AIFF.

Outgoing AIFF General Secretary Alberto Colaco took the views of the Executive Committee members on the arbitrator's interim order allowing Bhutia to play for any club, before giving the go-ahead to the IFA.

Though Colaco did not disclose the opinion of the Executive Committee members, majority of the members accepted the arbitrator's order though a couple of them have made it known how the matter was being handled by the AIFF.

AIFF vice-president AR Khaleel was among those who supported the arbitrator's interim order.

"Colaco asked me for my view and I said it was a good decision and we should implement it. It would have been good that the matter was resolved earlier with both sides coming up with an amicable solution. It is good that Bhutia will return to the field," he said.