Saddened with the happenings in AIFF: Shaji Prabhakaran

NEW DELHI: It all started when the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sacked its secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran in November last year due to "breach of trust".

It was the duo of Kalyan Chaubey and Shaji Prabhakaran who opened a new chapter in the AIFF with Chaubey becoming the first former player to get elected as the president of the football’s governing body.

With new hope and lots of promises, the duo started working for the betterment of Indian football, but then suddenly all hell broke loose.

After his sacking, Prabhakaran filed a case in the Delhi High Court alleging that his termination was wrong and was done disregarding the constitution of the AIFF as also the terms and conditions of his appointment letter.

The High Court temporarily stayed the AIFF’s decision to terminate its Secretary General.

Then followed the barrage of allegations against the federation chief.

First, the former president of Andhra Pradesh Football Association Gopalakrishna Kosaraju alleged misuse of funds.

And then came legal advisor Nilanjan Bhattacharjee’s allegation, followed by the sacking of Bhattacharjee on Monday.

However, amid all this, Prabhakaran preferred to maintain silence.

When contacted by IANS, Prabhakaran was initially not ready to speak, as the case he filed in the Delhi High Court is still sub-judice.

"Hope you can understand that my matter is sub-judice. I will speak as soon as the case is disposed of," Prabhakaran told IANS.

He also expressed disappointment over the developments in the AIFF, saying: “No doubt, the current situation is unfortunate and I am saddened with these happenings.”