AIFF disqualifies Hyderya Sports FC for producing fake bank guarantee

One of the top private clubs of Kashmir, Hyderya Sports had made the cut for the I-League Qualifiers after J & K Bank, the group topper in the JKFA Professional League, could not apply for being an institutional team.

Representative Image: Hyderya was slated to kickstart the I-League Qualifiers taking on Madan Maharaj FC in Bangalore on October 4.

The All India Football Federation on Monday disqualified Kashmir's Hyderya Sports FC from the upcoming I-League Qualifiers for producing bank guarantee, which was "not genuine".

One of the top private clubs of Kashmir, Hyderya Sports had made the cut for the I-League Qualifiers after J & K Bank, the group topper in the JKFA Professional League, could not apply for being an institutional team.

The national federation said the club's participation has been withdrawn after an enquiry revealed the bank guarantee given by it was not genuine.

"AIFF would like to inform all the stakeholders of I League Qualifiers 2021 (the “League”) that upon receiving several complaints regarding the genuineness of a bank guarantee submitted by Hyderya Sports Kashmir FC, the AIFF initiated an enquiry into the matter," the AIFF stated.

"The inquiry revealed that the bank guarantee so received was not genuine and that the bank guarantee was never officially issued by the bank named therein." The bank guarantee was one of the mandatory requirements to be eligible to participate in the League, which was to be submitted within a specified timeline.

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"The said timeline now stands elapsed and the mandatory requirement has not been fulfilled by the said club. In light of the same, Hyderya's participation in the League stands withdrawn with immediate effect.” The AIFF said it would not make any further statement on the matter.

"Furthermore, the AIFF reserves its rights to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the club," it added.

Hyderya was slated to kickstart the I-League Qualifiers taking on Madan Maharaj FC in Bangalore on October 4.

Without the Kashmir outfit, the group A will now have four teams — Rajasthan United FC, Ryntih SC, Madan Maharaj FC and FC Bengaluru United.

Group B comprises Corbett FC, Kenkre Sports, ARA FC, Kerala United FC and Delhi FC.

Top two teams from each group will make the final round where they will face each other in a round-robin format to decide the topper, which will be promoted to the I-League.