Simla Youngs Club dismisses four regulars for turning out for Delhi University against contractual guidelines; DSA pleads helplessnessAshish Rawat, Tapan Joshi, Kamal Rawat and Vikas Rawat were prominent faces in the Simla Youngs football club until just about two and a half months ago. From being regulars in the first squad they found their names off the team roster, not because of any untoward incident but for not heeding to their club’s “professional” guidelines in representing their university (Delhi University). “We went for University matches in October, skipping the Sikkim Gold Cup as the dates coincided. We were told by the club that if we go (for University matches) our contracts will be terminated. That’s exactly what happened and now we don’t have any option,” defender Tapan Joshi said. “Last year we were allowed to play all inter-college matches and asked not to appear in the official league as the dates were different. The Club told us to skip the matches this year as we were supposed to play in the Sikkim Gold Cup. But at the same time we were pressurised by our colleges too. They threatened to terminate our admissions,” stated Ashish Rawat, reinforcing his colleague’s view. But none of the two could recall any mention of any related clause stating the discretionary powers of the club in such cases. In fact, they haven’t even gone through the papers legalising their contracts.“We haven’t gone through it (the contract) at all. It was just too fat too read. And after the decision was taken they kept the papers with them. So we couldn’t read them later as well,” said Rawat. No second chance?All this, nevertheless, has left technical director and co-owner of Simla Youngs Tushar Dev angry and far from being in any mood for a reconciliation, calling it sheer lack of professionalism on part of the players.“We are a professional club and no more semi-pros. We are paying our players, providing training and also protecting them. In return, they are also expected to prioritise the interests of the club. All four of them pulled out three days before the Sikkim Gold Cup where we were invited after a gap of twenty years. We lost in the initial stages as we couldn’t play our best XI and find adequate replacements in time. The inter-city transfer window was closed too. Last year they were allowed to play for their university as the schedule didn’t clash. But this time things were different,” said Dev.Simla Youngs, this year, are the second team from the Capital (after ND Heroes) to have qualified for the second division I-League and the absence of these players, according to Dev, isn’t going to sour their preparations. “This in no way is going to affect our preparations for the tournament (division II of I-League). We’ve found replacements for all of them,” Dev added.Constitutional flawThe Delhi Soccer Association couldn’t come to the players’ rescue due to some technical flaws in its constitution. “Ideally every player should be allowed to play for his institution. But we can’t take up the matter until we receive a complaint. After roping in any player the clubs have been asked to send us a copy of the contract. But this remains only as an advisory that is violated by most clubs. In such a situation we are absolutely helpless. We are looking to amend our constitution in which this issue will also be taken care of. Right now the draft is with AFC,” said DSA secretary NK Bhatia.
