AIFF breached our trust 8212; rebels

New Delhi, November 27: Indian football and the war of words go hand in hand these days. Barely a day after the All India Football Federat...

New Delhi, November 27: Indian football and the war of words go hand in hand these days. Barely a day after the All India Football Federation AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi turned down Indian Premier Football Associationacirc;euro;trade;s IPFA demand to postpone the National Football League NFL, the newly-formed rebel group refuted Das Munshiacirc;euro;trade;s claims.

IPFA, which consists of Indiaacirc;euro;trade;s top clubs, has confirmed it will stay away from the premier tournament, slated to kick-off from December 10.acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;Yes, we wonacirc;euro;trade;t play. We have spoken to Vijay Mallya and he has decided that all IPFA members wonacirc;euro;trade;t be participating in the NFL,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; said Babu Mather here on Monday.

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;The decision to re-start the NFL not only shocked us, it also breached our trust. Dasmunshi failed to keep his word,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; said IPFA chief Mallya, who had spoken to Mather from San Francisco on Monday. Mather added: acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;Dasmunshiacirc;euro;trade;s decision surprised us all. He had acirc;euro;tilde;promisedacirc;euro;trade; the IPFA chief to look into their demands at the AIFF meeting which was held on Sunday. But, he went ahead and announced the NFL dates without even looking into the IPFA demandsacirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;.Probably, the AIFF was already apprehending this. In its general body meeting on Sunday, AIFF had released five stand-bye teams in case the rebel teams pull out at the eleventh hour. Border Security Force Jallandhar, Mohammedan Sporting, Dempo Sports Club, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited HAL, Bangalore, and Indian Bank would have been added to the 12-team league in case of pullouts from the original line-up.

Asked if IPFA would organise a parallel league, Mather added: acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;It will be decided only after Mallya returns from San Francisco on December 5. He will convene a meeting of the IPFA members either in Delhi or in Mumbai.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;However, Mather said that holding a parallel league would be the last thing on their mind. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;We are not keen on breaking away from the parent body. But it seems that AIFF wants us to do just that,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; Mather added.

He agreed that FIFA, the International soccer body, too doesnacirc;euro;trade;t encourage such moves revolting against the parent body. But Mather said: acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;IPFA is aware of the rules and in case we have to break away, we are prepared to face any action.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;

At the same time Mather reiterated that if nothing works out with AIFF, the IPFA may float a league of its own. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;We have our own sponsors and some TV channels in our mind.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;