XtraTime Web Desk: The fear for all the East Bengal fans become a reality, as Quess East Bengal FC is suspended by the All India Football Federation from any transfer activity till the next window on January 31st, The AIFF has confirmed www.xtratime.in after a prolonged meeting of the Players Status Committee meeting of the federation on Sukhdev Singh case. The former Minerva Punjab FC player too will be suspended till the January window.
In an interaction with www.xtratime.in, a top AIFF official told, “Not only East Bengal, Sukhdev too has been suspended till January 31st. The club has been found guilty and won’t be able to function to sign any player until the next transfer window.”
East Bengal CEO Sanjit Sen was very much clear about his statement when he was asked about the possibility of signing the two new foreigners Borja Perez and Enrique. He told XtraTime, “Well, Borja is coming to Kolkata on tomorrow at 7:20 pm. We will come to know about Enrique’s VISA status on Monday. I’m hopeful that they can play but when the problem started, Quess was not there in the scene as it happened in the month of April. I am waiting for the club to give a statement first and then I will be in a position to say something.”
The honourable Director of Minerva Punjab FC Mrs Heena Singh Bajaj detailed the matter to www.xtratime.in, as she said, “Well, East Bengal thought they can do whatever illegal things they want as they thought they are the most influential body in Indian club football. This is a victory and statement towards the professionalism in Indian football. This is a historic and bold step. Thanks to The AIFF.”
Heena also added, “Sukhdev never played outside Punjab and he is a very innocent guy. East Bengal took full advantage of it. They approached the player directly, right after the last I-League and assured him that they will settle the transfer fee with Minerva accordingly. East Bengal forced him to sign for them with a false hope. We tried to contact them a number of times but they were so rude and continuously ignored the matter. Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan approached about the player and gave us the transfer fee immediately. Hence, we asked Sukhdev to sign for Mohun Bagan and cleared the NOC and submitted all the necessary records of the transfer to The AIFF.”