The I-League qualifiers scheduled for next month will be between 9 teams after Hyderya Sports FC have been disqualified. The 2nd Division I-League team based out of Srinagar are disqualified on grounds of producing fake bank guarantees. A sourced claim that Hyderya tried to duplicate the bank guarantee of the neighbouring club, Downtown Heroes FC.
Over 29 teams across the country applied for the qualifiers. Of the 29, only 12 had club licensing. The policy of ‘one state, one club’ came into play and thus 2 teams did not make the final 10. When 2 clubs from the same state vie for a spot in the qualifiers, the team that finished higher in the State League qualifies.
Garwhal FC from New Delhi did not make the cut as Delhi FC were the better team in the State League. Similarly, Kenkre FC’s qualification meant that PIFA Sports FC had to stay out. Hyderya finished 2nd in the state League behind J&K Bank and above Downtown Heroes FC. J&K Bank are an institutional team and thus cannot play in the I-League.
Hyderya Sports FC could be punished
Hyderya Sports FC feel that everything went wrong after the concerned bank employee was transferred. The bank received their bank guarantee from the Dalgate branch of the J&K Bank.
The club claim that papers of land worth nearly Rs.40 Lakhs or a car worth Rs.35 Lakhs were initially accepted by the bank. However, when the matter came to light, the bank deny accepting any form of assets. The Bank want Rs.25 Lakhs in cash instead.
AIFF informed Hyderya about the invalid bank guarantee to which the club requested for 2-3 days to sort things out. Later on Monday, AIFF announced that Hyderya’s participation from the I-League qualifiers has been withdrawn. The reason for the decision being that the bank guarantee was not genuine.
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