Two football players of Khad FC registered a complaint against Deepak Sharma, an executive committee member of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), for physically assaulting them. The complaint was filed with the AIFF’s competitions committee on Friday, while the assault took place on Thursday in a hotel room during the ongoing Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2 in Goa.
“Yesterday (Thursday), after dinner, we went to our rooms to boil eggs. Due to this, Deepak Sharma got offended and stormed into our room. He slapped and physically assaulted us,” the complaint from Palak Verma and Ritika Thakur, backed by three witnesses, read.
“He was drinking in front of us,” the complaint further stated about Sharma, the general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Football Association and deputy chairman of the AIFF’s competitions committee, who, according to them, was in an “inebriated (drunken) state.”
Deepak holds the position of deputy chairperson of the competition committee and is an executive committee member of the AIFF, as per the federation’s website. He is also the chairperson of the federation’s infrastructure committee. The Goa Football Association intervened after the complainants alleged that Sharma used to drink regularly, even during travel time. They said that he drinks openly in front of players. The GFA registered a complaint with the Mapusa Police Station.
The association’s vice president, Jonathan D’Souza, wrote, “As an organizer and part of the GFA, we felt that we should at least inform the police that such an incident has happened. Now, the law has to follow this process.”
To ensure the safety of the players, AIFF officials sent a safeguarding officer to them. Valanka Alemao, Chairperson of the AIFF women’s football committee, said, “I have just seen the complaint copy and am rushing to see the team at the hotel. Such things cannot be tolerated. The AIFF will deal with this accordingly.”
However, the two girls have requested a separate travel itinerary as they do not feel comfortable returning with the contingent, and the GFA has made arrangements for their separate return.
