Legal action threatens to derail the new Indian I-League season with second division Vasco SC filing a lawsuit days before the season opener.
Vasco SC, currently plying their trade in India's second division, have decided to take the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to court, claiming second division champions Shilliong Lajong fielded an ineligible player during their promotion campaign.
The saga could prove divisive for a league that has struggled constantly, both financially and logistically, since its inception in 2006.
The Goa based club want to be instated as second division champions at the expense of Shillong - and take their place in the I-League - following the Indian FA's acknowledgment that Shillong fielded Seikhohao Tuboi for four second division matches, despite him being registered for at least three state associations.
The Indian FA suspended Tuboi as a result but no punishment has been levelled at the club even though they clearly broke second division I-League regulations, which state: "Any team refusing to play or does not turn up for the match at the scheduled time or refuses to start or complete a match or fields an ineligible player shall be scratched from the competition."
"The match shall be forfeited and the opponents present at the venue shall be declared winners by a three-goal difference and three points shall be awarded to them."
Tuboi was also reportedly registered with the state associations of Meghalaya, West Bengal and Manipur with the Indian FA declaring, through a Player Status Committee meeting, that Tuboi was the guilty party and not the club.
Former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia openly criticised the decision believing it is not the player's sole responsibility to ensure player eligibility, but the club's.
"Tuboi is one of the greatest talents in Indian football and he has been made a scapegoat and suspended," Bhutia said.
"If action needs to be taken it must be against all the parties involved, why only the player has to suffer?"
"You mean to say that the Meghalaya Football Association or Shillong Lajong weren't aware that their player was playing for another club?"
Vasco opted for arbitration with the matter unresolved but were told by the Indian FA they had little chance of mediation.
On behalf of Vasco the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) sent out a notice to Shillong Lajong, the AIFF and the Goa Football Association (GFA), who have been summoned to appear in court on Thursday.