There has been nothing right going on inside the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Manolo Marquez has been appointed as the new head coach of the national team. However, after the selection of the Spanish manager, former India captain Baichung Bhutia has said that he is resigning from the technical committee. FC Goa’s head coach replaces Igor Stimac.
It is to be believed that the Spanish manager will join the side next season. Baichung Bhutia claimed that normally the technical committee recommends the head coach of the national team. The current technical panel is headed by veteran IM Vijayan.
Baichung Bhutia angry with AIFF
Bhutia told PTI, “I was earlier the head of the AIFF Technical Committee (from 2013 to 2017) and was involved in coaching appointments in the case of Stephen Constantine. The task of the Technical Committee is to select the applied candidates and recommend a suitable person to be the instructor. But at this time no technical committee meeting was held to appoint the successor of Stimac.”
Bhutia said there was no technical committee meeting to discuss. He added, “How many candidates had applied, and who had been shortlisted? Nothing like that happened this time. This process was being implemented earlier too, but not this time. If you are going to bypass the technical committee in appointing a head coach, why are we for it? I had said in the executive committee meeting that the technical committee is not important as there is no participation of the technical committee. So what are we in for? I said that I am resigning from the membership of the technical committee.”
However, AIFF said that Vijayan attended the meeting through video conference. “When contacted, AIFF Acting General Secretary M Satyanarayana said that Vijayan was consulted in the coaching appointment process. Satyanarayana said that there should not be a dispute. I think the chairman of the technical committee was consulted.”
