New Delhi: 

Be it the murder of an RG Kar Hospital physician or condemning the cowardly terrorists’ attack on unarmed tourists in Pahalgam, the All India Football Federation doesn’t often miss a beat to voice its stand on social issues.

New sexual harassment policy:

Since then, no one has heard a word about it. Sources claimed that the AIFF never bothered to follow up on the matter with the Delhi Police and did not make any effort to alert or take the advice of the AIFF ethics committee.

The accuser and the alleged perpetrators continue to work under the same roof, even as a new policy to prevent sexual harassment was implemented in a rather hasty manner by the AIFF.

A source in the AIFF said, “It is a pity that the matter was allowed to die. Not only was a staff member humiliated in public, but a bunch of saboteurs within the organisation were allowed to go scot-free despite committing such misdeeds.

“The AIFF president, secretary general, and the deputy secretary general remained mute spectators to the harassment of a lady employee for reasons best known to them.”

Now the deputy secretary general, Satyanarayan didn’t want to offer a comment on the matter, when News9 Sports spoke to him.

Wheels within wheels:

The story wasn’t over yet. It turned murkier, to say the least. It is alleged that the person (or the persons) who allegedly escaped any form of punishment are not only roaming free in the corridors of the Football House, but some have even been ‘rewarded’ with huge pay rises and promotions, leaving many within the AIFF wondering whether the organisation has different rules for different employees.

It helped that the alleged victim refrained from pursuing the matter to avoid social stigma, allowing the ICC to close the case on April 3 in the absence of an official complaint.

In May 2024, the victim was attacked and thoroughly maligned once again, this time in a different way altogether. A video surfaced on a sports news portal, where all the confidential details of the victim were laid bare, including resume, offer letter and the emails exchanged between her and the AIFF acting secretary general. The story alleged that the victim had no qualifications to fill the post she was holding.

It was obviously a job of an insider or a group of insiders in the AIFF, who had access to the server in the organisation.

The victim again knocked on the doors of the ICC on April 9, 2024, linking the leak to her sexual harassment complaint. While the ICC said it didn’t come under their purview, the AIFF, in a press release on May 10, said it has filed a complaint with Delhi Police’s cybercrime unit.

To add to it, the then acting secretary general, M Satyanarayan said, “We are fully committed to upholding the integrity and confidentiality of all our staff members who we keep in high regard.

“In light of the complaint received, we are doing everything to take things to a logical conclusion. Apart from the ICC meeting, we have already filed an official complaint with the Cyber Crime Unit of the Delhi Police who have assured us of all help to get to the root of the problem at the earliest.”

But then, in the AIFF, it seems, the charity doesn’t begin at home. Because, in the manner in which it handled allegations of sexual harassment in the Football House (the headquarters of the AIFF) that surfaced last year, and made best efforts to sweep it under the carpet it can be safely assumed that the federation has left quite a big gap in practising what it preaches.

The issue raised such a storm that the federation’s then acting secretary general, M Satyanarayan, was forced to ask the internal complaints committee (ICC) to convene on March 21, 2024, to hear misconduct accusations by a male office staff member against his co-worker in February.

But it turned out to be a mere storm in a teacup since the matter was quietly closed after the victim decided not to press charges against the alleged perpetrator.

“Football has always been a force that unites, inspires and heals. In these trying times, we hope that the spirit of togetherness and resilience will prevail over hatred and violence,” the AIFF said within 24 hours of the terror attack in Kashmir through a statement in which its president, Kalyan Chaubey, expressed his “deepest condolences on the tragic loss of lives….”

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