By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has formed a three member committee to investigate the dispute between chief coacl Abdullah Al Mutairi and ten footballers who were sent packing from the training camp by the chief coach.
The executive committee of ANFA on Sunday called an emergency meeting to form the probe committee. According to ANFA, the three members of the committee include former Major General of the Nepalese Army Victor Rana, former international footballer Bidur Bista and vice president of Nepal National and International Players Association Deepak Thapa. The committee has been authorized to investigate the matter and make recommendations to ANFA.
Altogether 10 players undergoing training for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers were allegedly forced to leave the camp on April 26 due to the ill-treatment by the chief coach.
The dispute erupted after the chief coach ordered stand-in skipper Rohit Chand to leave the training camp after he demanded players to be kept in a hotel instead of ANFA hostel. Other nine players who tried to discuss the issue with the coach were also told to leave the camp. The dispute flared up after the nine senior players left the camp saying that the players were ill treated for raising genuine concerns.
The players made the issue public during a press conference two days later.
Nine senior players who left the camp after they were told to do so repeatedly by the chief coach include Sujal Shrestha, Ananta Tamang, Bishal Rai, Bimal Gharti Magar, Dinesh Rajbanshi, Bishal Shrestha, Anjan Bista, Tej Tamang and Suman Lama. The players had been urging ANFA to investigate the incident and take action against them if they were found guilty.
On the other hand, chief coach Al Mutairi submitted a letter to ANFA CEO Indra Man Tuladhar on May 1 saying that the players left the training camp without giving any notice.
