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AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey defended his leadership against Bhaichung Bhutia’s criticism, accusing Bhutia of commercial interests and inaction during EC meetings.
AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey and Bhaichung Bhutia (X)
‘I only speak facts and figures. He is free to speak whatever he wants.’
AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey addressed Bhaichung Bhutia’s scathing criticism of the Federation lately, following India’s 0-1 loss to Hong Kong, clapping back at the former player with a scathing and pointed rebuttal on Friday.
Bhutia, a former skipper of the Indian Football Team, directly blamed Chaubey for the “rotten” state of Indian Football, pointing out how the constant change in leadership was hurting the system, on top of all the controversies and alleged corruption.
“It’s very painful to see…Kalyan Chaubey has destroyed Indian football. Chaubey has to resign and leave. He has completely destroyed it. Three General Secretaries in two-and-a-half years — the entire structure, the system will have to be changed,” Bhutia told PTI.
As a reply, Chaubey, who addressed the media in a press conference in Delhi, bluntly pointed out the shortcomings of Bhutia as a member of the AIFF himself, highlighting the silence of the former skipper during EC meetings.
“In the past 13 months, we have had 11 EC meetings. He (Bhutia) has been present at all of them. If there was corruption, he had ample opportunity to challenge them in the meetings, all of which are recorded and accessible to the masses.”
Chaubey then went on the attack, accusing Bhutia, who has football academies of his own all over India, of preying on “the emotions of players and families” whilst being unable to produce any discernible outcome — highlighting the ridiculous 31-0 loss of Bhutia’s Academy to Minerva Academy.
“He has commercial schools where the fees are from 1000s to 2 lakhs… He has a completely vested and commercial interest. They are taking undue advantage while playing with the emotions of players and people who believe that he has achieved the peak of Indian football.”
“I’ve had enough over the past one and a half years. And I am here to tell that if he still wishes to swim against the tide, he will face obstacles.”
“Being a respected figure comes with a lot of responsibility. It isn’t merely about personalities, but it’s about progress.”
Chaubey sure has thrown the gauntlet out at Bhutia yet again, who is yet to comment on the same.
After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His long-term…Read More
After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His long-term… Read More
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