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The Delhi High Court issued a stay order against the removal of All-India Football Federation Chief Shaji Prabhakaran. The Indian football governing body removed Prabhakaran from the post of general secretary last month for breaching the trust. The decision was ratified by the AIFF executive committee. Prabhakaran took the matter to the High Court and asserted that his removal by the AIFF President was illegitimate as only the Executive Committee had the authority to terminate his services.
During the court’s hearing on Friday, Justice Justice Subramonium Prasad put a stay on Prabhakaran's termination order. As per the AIFF sources, Prabhakaran earned the displeasure of the president and executive committee members. It came after a few of his arbitrary decisions and actions. Notably, Prabhakaran was one of the key associates of Chaubey who swept to power in September 2022.
Chaubey replaced the committee of Praful Patel, who ruled the Federation for 13 years. The AIFF announced Prabhakaran’s termination effective from November 2023. Until then, M. Satyanarayan, the AIFF deputy secretary was appointed as the acting secretary general until a permanent replacement is determined.
After AIFF’s statement, Prabhakaran said in a tweet, “AIFF’s decision to terminate me comes as a shock. We were working as a team. Charging me for ‘breach of trust’ is a massive allegation. More on this later. I remain a servant of the beautiful game and thank you all who have supported me in my honest effort for Indian football.”
