New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday suspended its member Deepak Sharma, who is accused of physical assault by women players.
"The Emergency Committee of the AIFF, which includes the President, Vice President, and Treasurer, held a meeting on April 1 to discuss the IWL 2 incident in Goa and complaints received from two female players against an AIFF official Deepak Sharma. Thereafter, a meeting of the representatives of AIFF Member Associations was held on the same day 45 minutes later," the AIFF said in a media statement posted on its website.
"Deepak Sharma was called to explain his side of the story for a few minutes and was advised to leave the meeting afterwards. The representatives of Member Associations then arrived upon the conclusion after all the discussions that an emergency Executive Committee meeting would be held on April 2, and the discussion was held at 1 PM to determine the next steps in the matter.
"The Executive Committee members met then and after a detailed discussion, the Executive Committee decided to dissolve the Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Pinky Bompal Magar, formed on March 30, 2024, and to immediately refer the matter to the AIFF Disciplinary Committee," it added.
According to the national football body, the executive committee suspended Deepak Sharma and he will not be allowed to participate in any football-related activities.
"Meanwhile, the AIFF Executive Committee has decided to suspend Deepak Sharma from participating in any football-related activities until further notice, it added.
AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey said, “The AIFF is determined to promote women's football in a safe and enabling environment and will take all necessary steps to ensure this. The incident in Goa during IWL 2, should not be amplified to undermine the AIFF's developmental efforts in women's football. The particular case has now been referred to the Disciplinary Committee and will be taken up emergently."
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