Refs meet today, red card unlikely

The posturing by both sides suggests a confrontation but the reality is that when the AIFF8217;s nine-member Emergency Committee meets in N...

The posturing by both sides suggests a confrontation but the reality is that when the AIFF8217;s nine-member Emergency Committee meets in New Delhi tomorrow to discuss the Fransa Pax crisis, they are likely to work out a compromise.

The stakes are too high for either side to risk pushing the envelope too far.

Yet you wouldn8217;t believe that from what was being said today. 8216;8216;Replay or split points. No two ways about it8217;8217;, said Fransa-Pax chairman Mickky Pacheco.

Put it to him that there8217;s a risk of a decision that will make Fransa-Pax history and his response is clear: 8216;8216;I don8217;t care. They AIFF are at fault.8217;8217;

The onus is now on the committee. There are five Goan representatives on the panel: Goa Football Association president Shivanand Salgaocar ex-officio member, GFA secretary Savio Messias special invitee, Dempo Sports club president Srinivas Dempo, Sporting Clube president Peter Vaz and AIFF general secretary Alberto Colaco. In theory, Fransa should breathe easy.

But Salgaocar and Pacheco share a rocky relationship, particularly when the Fransa boss accuses Salgaocar of influencing referees, and Colaco is a man who goes by the book.

Messias, who has already said that Fransa8217;s withdrawal would be a great loss to Goan football, and Vaz, a man known for fair play, would be more amenable to Fransa8217;s case. Dempo is abroad and is likely to miss the meeting.

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That effectively leaves the decision-making to four: AIFF president Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, DSA secretary Nasir Ali, Indian Football Association secretary Subrata Dutta and Zee Sports8217; CEO Gary Lovejoy.

The AIFF has already begun working on a compromise, and its recent actions show it8217;s not in favour of confrontation. After categorically stating that Fransa8217;s matches could not be rescheduled, late Saturday night the GFA were told that the Febuary 6 and 9 matches against Sporting Clube and Salgaocar were put off.

And its statement that Vasco SC and Churchill Brothers were on standby should Fransa be kicked out appears to be a bluff. Vasco have denied being officially informed of this; on the contrary, the club has received a fax from the AIFF with details of the NFL Second Division beginning on February 22.