AIFF Suspends Player

File picture of S. Tuboi in Shillong Lajong colours

Shillong, May 10 : Shillong Lajong FC striker Seikhokhao Tuboi has been suspended by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) allegedly for having represented two clubs in a single season without following the process of transfer and registration.

The 22-year-old striker had played for Army XI in the Kolkata League and went on to don the red-and-white Lajong colours in the final leg of the ongoing Second Division I-League being held here.

The AIFF suspended the ace striker following complaints from Calcutta’s Southern Samity, which suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Lajong at the Polo ground here on April 25.

However, the AIFF dismissed the protest lodged by Southern Samity. It said all objections have to be made before the competition commenced.

But the issue was again raked up when Lajong defeated Goa’s Vasco by 2-1 goals on May 5.

As pressure accumulated, the AIFF sought clarifications from the Meghalaya Football Association (MFA) and West Bengal’s Indian Football Association (IFA) about Tuboi.

The MFA, in a letter to the AIFF, said Tuboi had registered with Lajong since 2009 before the commencement of the Second Division I-League.

The striker then went on to play in the First Division I-League.

Interestingly though, the IFA had registered Tuboi as a Lajong player when he played for the IFA Shield in March this year.

But it was the same IFA, which told the AIFF that Tuboi had registered as an Army XI player for the Calcutta League.

Lajong has questioned the credibility of the IFA over the Tuboi suspension issue.

“If Tuboi had played for the Calcutta League, then why was he allowed to play for our club in the IFA Shield organised by the same body,” Lajong general secretary Larsing M. Sawian today said.

“Tuboi was in Lajong since 2009. Now, when he had recently resigned from the army and sacrificed his life for football, why do they want to spoil the career of a talented player?” Sawian asked.

He also clarified that Tuboi had never taken an inter-state transfer when it was opened in June last year and February this year. “There is no question about the legitimacy of Tuboi playing for Lajong,” he added.

Till an AIFF committee meets and decide on Tuboi, the player, who has scored in three out of four games in the ongoing final leg of the Second Division I-League, will have to stay on the sidelines.

Lajong is leading the point table in the final leg with 13 points. The team has won four matches and drew once and it is quite certain to feature in the next edition of the First Divison I-League.