AIFF in turmoil! Bhaichung Bhutia slammed the federation for this reason!

Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has slammed the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for its decision to stage the Hero Santosh Trophy abroad at Saudi Arabia. Bhutia has asked for a probe against the federation as he thinks that the authority has done things on their own will.

Apparently, Bhutia is pissed at the AIFF after India pulled out from the race to host the 2027 edition of the AFC Asia Cup and moving the Santosh trophy to Saudi. Bhutia feels that it is a deliberate act and he finds something uncanny and unusual about it.

Bhaichung Bhutia 🗣️ : "ISL and AIFF must ensure that it is not left to the last moment for East Bengal to get an entry, It harmed brand value of both ISL and club. EB has fans willing to die for it. It has a legacy. So, don’t treat East Bengal that way." [via HT] #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/gvvF3Q6Wu4

— 90ndstoppage (@90ndstoppage) February 24, 2023

Thus, the former India captain has asked the Indian government, AFC and FIFA to investigate the case as there could be something more in this. “I would want AFC (Asian Football Confederation), FIFA and the government of India’s sports ministry to investigate. There is something fishy about it.” 

Bhaichung Bhutia on Santosh Trophy being held in Saudi Arabia 🗣️ :"I would want the AFC, FIFA and the government of India’s sports ministry to investigate into this, there is something fishy about this." [via HT] #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/saij0cmGHY

— 90ndstoppage (@90ndstoppage) February 24, 2023

The 46-year-old is one of the members of the executive committee of AIFF and Bhutia has alleged General Secretary Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran and president Kalyan Chaubey took the decision (of pulling out from Asia Cup) without keeping other executive members on loop.

In response, Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran denied all the allegations saying the executive members were already informed and the bid could not have been withdrawn with the approval of the members. “Without the approval of the executive committee, we couldn’t have withdrawn the bid.”

Bhutia also thinks that taking the Santosh trophy will not be beneficial for Indian football and said that it will be a good few days off for the AIFF officials. Only 4 teams remain for the Santosh Trophy as the semi-finals and final will take place in the middle east with Meghalaya, Services, Punjab and Karnataka aiming to bag home the Inter-state championship.