PANAJI: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has told NorthEast United FC that Kerala Blasters cannot be punished for fielding Dusan Lagator, who had a pending suspension at the time of his transfer from Hungarian club Debreceni VSC to India.
NorthEast had appealed with FIFA’s dispute resolution chamber.
A January signing, the Montenegro midfielder was a second-half substitute against NorthEast in their goalless draw in Kochi and served his suspension in the next game against East Bengal.
“There is no violation from either the club or the federation,” AIFF secretary general P Anilkumar told TOI on Friday. “NorthEast’s protest has been overruled. As per our records, there is no violation.”
The AIFF swung into action after being informed by FIFA that the dispute between NorthEast and Blasters was of a “national dimension, the eligibility of a player in a competition falling under the auspices of AIFF.”
