The All India Football Federation appeal committee’s decision to dock Inter Kashi three points for their I-League match against Namdhari FC was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
On April 24, Kashi filed an appeal with the CAS against the appellate committee’s April 18 ruling that Namdhari should receive three points and three goals due to forfeiture for fielding an ineligible player.
In their January 13 home game, Namdhari defeated Kashi 2-0 in Ludhiana. On February 28, the AIFF’s disciplinary committee granted Kashi a +3 goal differential and three points back because Namdhari had fielded an ineligible.
In its ruling on Tuesday, CAS stated that “the appeal filed on 24 April 2025 by Inter Kashi FC against the decision made on 18 April 2025 by the Appeal Committee of the All-India Football Federation is sustained.”
“The terms of the decision issued on 24 February 2025 by the All-India Football Federation Disciplinary Committee in the matter IL 2024-25/102 are hereby confirmed, and the decision made on 18 April 2025 by the All-India Football Federation Appeal Committee is set aside:
“In accordance with Article 57 read with Article 26 of the Code of fielding an ineligible player, the defendant club Namdhari FC shall forfeit the aforementioned match (0-3 loss).”
AIFF would spend about Rs 20 lakh.
The AIFF will receive 40% of the around Rs 17–18 lakh arbitration fee at the Lausanne-based CAS, while Namdhari, Kashi, and Churchill Brothers will receive 20% apiece, or approximately Rs 9 lakh.
For legal costs paid during the arbitration, Kashi would get CHF 2,000 (about Rs 2.12 lakh) from the AIFF and CHF 1,000 (approximately Rs 1.06 lakh) from Churchill and Namdhari.
Although it proceeded with it on the grounds of a holiday at its secretariat on April 27, CAS had previously placed a stay order on the appeal committee’s ruling.
Additionally, Kashi filed a CAS complaint against Mario Barco, their foreign player, when the appeal committee determined that his re-registration did not adhere to I-League rules.
After Churchill ended first in the provisional rankings with 40 points from 22 games, one point more than Kashi, the appeal committee proclaimed them the victors, and the result in that case would determine the I-League championship.
