Essa will only block quota slot: Bhutia

Amid the gushing talk of East Bengal recruiting Pakistan footballer Mohammed Essa comes a note of dissent, from no less than India captain B...

Amid the gushing talk of East Bengal recruiting Pakistan footballer Mohammed Essa comes a note of dissent, from no less than India captain Bhaichung Bhutia. An East Bengal player himself, Bhutia says Essa will simply block a place on the foreigner’s quota.

‘‘It’s ridiculous really, the idea of recruiting a Pakistani player. Essa may be good but we are talking of a foreign player’s slot here. I don’t think the club should take any hasty decision on this. Let him prove his worth. It is okay if he performs, but it is too early, I think’’, he said.

Essa’s signing may not be for footballing reasons alone. East Bengal, one of the more forward-looking of Indian football clubs, would be thinking in terms of sponsorships and a potential market in Pakistan.

Bhutia also criticised the AIFF’s decision to reintroduce foreigners to the second division National Football League (NFL). ‘‘This will ruin the game in the country. They (AIFF) had taken the right decision last season when they barred them, but this will ensure that the first division NFL will be played only by Kolkata, Goan and Mumbai clubs who can afford foreigners,’ he said.

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