The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday lifted the two-year suspension and ‘deemed withdrawal’ of Mohun Bagan from the I-League while putting certain conditions for the Kolkata club’s continued participation in the competition.
Acting on an appeal from Mohun Bagan against the two-year suspension imposed by Justice A.K. Ganguly (retd.) for walking out of its match against East Bengal on December 9 last, the AIFF Executive Committee which met here on Tuesday removed the suspension but slapped a Rs. 2 crore fine on the club.
Mohun Bagan would lose all its points gathered so far in the League and would be required to play the rest of the matches as per the schedule to be decided by the AIFF.
It would be required to give an undertaking to the AIFF in the form of a bond that it would not commit any violation of rules and regulations of the code of discipline or code of ethics.
Until these conditions are met, the suspension imposed on Mohun Bagan would be operative, according to the AIFF decision.
The meeting also decided to refer the matter of indiscipline by Mohun Bagan captain Odafa Onyeka Okolie to the Disciplinary Committee. No official of the Mohun Bagan team would be permitted to attend any deliberation or meeting of the AIFF for a period of one year from the date of the decision.
In other decisions, the committee decided to bid for two news clubs in the 2013-2014 edition of the I-League.
The international friendly against Palestine, scheduled at Guwahati on February 6, would now be played in Kochi because of the unsatisfactory ground condition in the Assam capital.
The second division I-League would be held in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, while the under-20 League would be held in Jamshedpur.