XtraTime Correspondent: The story of the battle between Minerva Punjab and The All India Football Federation gets another dimension as The AIFF comes up with their clarification on the report where Minerva Punjab owner Ranjit Bajaj claimed that the I-League CEO Sunando Dhar shared negative remarks on his statement of shutting down the club on phone.
In an interaction with XtraTime.in journalist Suman Chakravorty, The I-League CEO told, “Well, I never said such thing on a negative note. What I told him was, if he wants to shut down his club, he certainly can. People will discuss about it for a few days like it happened with clubs like JCT or Dempo SC and then will forget it. Shutting down the club is not the solution. Rather I asked him to find a feasible solution.”
The I-League CEO has also made a significant statement for Minerva, as he told XtraTime, “They are competing in the AFC Cup means they are representing Indian football in the international level. If there is a problem, The AIFF is ready to help them out. But they have to officially write a mail to the Federation for seeking help. We are not against Minerva. For us, all the clubs are equal.”
Sunando Dhar also clarified the issue by saying, “I don’t know how AIFF can stop them from playing there. This is an international tournament and not an AIFF one. They directly booked the venue at the Odisha Government. It’s an issue completely between the club and the Odisha Government. But as I said, if they want the help from us, we will try to help them as much as possible.”
No doubt, the I-League CEO’s words projecting an entirely different interpretation of the incident Minerva Punjab claimed and gives a positive vibe to the issue.