Real Kashmir-Minerva row: AIFF executive panel to take final decision

New Delhi, Feb 25: After the failure of Minerva Punjab FC to turn up in Srinagar on February 18 for an I-League clash against Real Kashmir, the AIFF league committee on Monday decided to refer the matter to the federation's executive committee for a decision.

The decision was taken at a meeting, chaired by AIFF Senior Vice-President Subrata Dutta and attended by federation's General Secretary Kushal Das and I-League CEO Sunando Dhar, that heard representatives from both the teams.

Meanwhile, Real Kashmir submitted in writing that in view of the current uncertainty prevailing in Kashmir due to Article 35A case, they want to play the forthcoming I-League match against East Bengal at a neutral venue, like New Delhi, on February 28. 

Accordingly, the committee decided to shift the match to Delhi.

In the letter, Real Kashmir also reiterated uncertainty was not prevalent in Srinagar during February 16-19.

Furthermore, the committee also announced that qualifiers for the upcoming Super Cup will be played in Bhubaneswar on March 15-16, while the final round of the tournament will be played from March 29 to April 13. 

The exact dates of matches for the final round will be announced after finalisation of the AFC Cup schedule.