The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has decided to suspend its executive committee member Deepak Sharma until further notice on Tuesday. Accused of physically assaulting two women footballers of Khad FC, Sharma was arrested by Goa police after the association of the host state lodged a complaint. However, he was later released on bail. Sharma is suspended for his alleged physical assault of the two players.
The players plied their trade with the Himachal Pradesh-based club in the Indian Women’s Football (IWL) League second division. Sharma, who is the owner of the club, allegedly barged into the players’ room and physically assaulted them on March 28. Probing the alleged incident, the AIFF panel asked Sharma to refrain from football-related activities before the conclusion of the investigation.
“The AIFF Executive Committee has decided to suspend Mr. Deepak Sharma from participating in any football-related activities until further notice,” the AIFF said in a release. According to a media release shared by the AIFF, the Emergency Committee discussed the ‘IWL 2 incident in Goa’ and complaints received from the players against Sharma. A meeting was held of the representatives of AIFF Member Associations on the same day. Sharma was called and heard for a few minutes before he was advised to leave the meeting.
