Internet Desk: Dempo Sports Club midfielders Romeo Fernandes and Mandar Rao Desai have been cleare by the AIFF Disciplinary Committe after being suspended for three months by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) disciplinary committee for giving the SAFF Cup preparatory camp a miss.
Dempo, however, have nothing to worry as the players already served the punishment and will be available when the club starts its Second Division I-League campaign on Saturday.
The AIFF disciplinary committee heard the two players in Pune on Tuesday and decided to hand the duo a three-month suspension from taking part in any national or international competition. However, the decision is effective December 21, 2015 when the two players were asked to report for the SAFF Cup preparatory camp in Kerala, which means the star players will be available for Dempo’s Second Division I-League final round opener against Gangtok Himalayan in Sikkim.
The players have also been fined Rs 50,000 each and asked to pay up within a week.
The AIFF disciplinary committee took an unusually long time to decide the fate of India midfielders. The committee, chaired by NA Khan, met three times since they were initially placed under suspension on December 24 but shockingly decided to take up the matter only three months later, even as Romeo and Mandar missed Dempo’s initial Second Division I-League and Goa’s Santosh Trophy campaign, besides international assignments.