Decision to award match to East Bengal vindicated: IFA

Kolkata:

The Indian Football Association today said its decision to award the controversial IFA Shield final 2001 to East Bengal stood vindicated following the report of the AIFF fact-finding committee. "The sinister propaganda against IFA for declaring East Bengal as winners of the abandoned Shield final against Brazil's Palmeiras has been proved wrong. The propaganda was only intended to malign the image of the association," IFA Joint Secretary Ranjit Gupta said. Pointing out that the fact-finding committee was formed as per the directive of the Asian Football Confederation, he said, "the AFC now has to act on the report. We are waiting for their reaction and will decide on our next course of action only after that." Asked about the one-year ban imposed by AFC on affiliates of AIFF, he said he had not received any such order from the Confederation. Gupta said the AFC order came in the wake of AIFF delaying submission of its report and the IFA had no role to play in this regard. (PTI)