The AFC highlighted six matches of the Goa football
Association (GFA) Professional League and the investigation carried out
thereafter by GFA has started to leave stains of how badly the GFA secretariat
is being run by secretary Jovito Lopes.
The first flaw in the investigation is evident in GFA”s
official Note signed by Jovito and circulated to the Executive Committee members
on 3/8/2020 wherein he starts stating:
“It was on 08.03.2020 at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Margao that
our Vice president, Mr. Anthony Pango brought to the notice of GFA Secretary Mr.
Jovito Lopes that there was one person in the Stadium's West Zone who was
constantly on mobile, mobiles relaying the commentary of the match in progress
Hero l-League match No.B6 – Churchill Brothers FC v/s Kerala FC.
The AFC report was about six matches that took place in the
months of November and December 2019 and had no bearing with the AIFF match
held on 8/3/2020.
The note further states: “Further, Mr. Lopes visited the Panjim
Police Station as there were rumors that a complaint on match fixing was lodged
by a Panjim-based football club. After meeting with two Sub lnspectors and the Head
Constable it was ascertained that no such complaint on match fixing was lodged.
Had there been a rumour would it have been the duty of the
General Secretary to first get a written clarification from the club?
The note lastly states: Further, our investigations also
revealed that the contracts of a couple of players of a football club were terminated
on alleged suspicion.
The modus of the investigation that revealed that contract
of some players contract was terminated on alleged suspicion is not revealed.
The contracts may have been terminated but alleging suspicion on match fixing without
proof?
The last paragraph of the note throws most light on how
seriously the GFA secretary took the matter: “We have written to the AIFF lntegrity
Officer Mr. Joved Siraj on 09.03.2020 and provided our
report on the investigation carried at our end. We received the
AIFF Report on 05.03.2020.
We replied on 06.03.2020. We carried the investigations and gave
the report of our investigation on 09.03. 2020.”
GFA completed an investigation on a matter red flagged by
AFC in three days after having received the AIFF report on 5/3/2020.
Interestingly , Jovito in his confidential letter to AIFF
Integrity Officer Javed Siraj zeroes on one Gabriel Fernandes and goes on to claim that the Genius Group
that received accreditation from AIFF was allegedly linked to a betting company
in the United kingdom and that AIFF needed to sort their accreditation process.
Information accessed by
Goalfest proves that the GFA has a contract with Genius Group signed by the secretary himself.
It is clear that the GFA secretary did no investigation into
the six matches red flagged by AFC and
one of the reasons for that could have been because none of the six results
raised any suspicion of manipulation to all those aware of football in Goa. The
same could have easily been put in words instead of going through a farce of
investigating a match that had no connection to the matches’ red flagged by
AFC.
Mishandling of the investigation and Jovito’s inability to
reply to written queries from the Executive Committee members has widened the
division and this is eroding the yeoman service done by GFA President to
football for the last so many years.
No comments:
Post a Comment