Promising striker Mohammed Rafi got the axe as India on Monday announced a 23-member squad, to be captained by Bhaichung Bhutia, for the Asian Cup football tournament starting on January 7 in Doha, Qatar.
Team manager Pradeep Chowdhury's out-of-the-blue decision to part ways with the Indian football squad has not gone down well with national players, who are preparing in Dubai for the Asian Cup, scheduled to be held in Doha from January 7.
The suspension row between Bhaichung Bhutia and Mohun Bagan drags on, with both the sides submitting written replies to the previous hearing's arguments in the presence of the AIFF-appointed arbitrator in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Friday said the shutting down of Mahindra United should serve as a wake-up call for All India Football Federation who need to encourage fan-based clubs.
Mohun Bagan on Thursday wrote a 255-page letter to football's world governing body FIFA, challenging the interim relief to India captain Bhaichung Bhutia.
Bajrang Punia had won gold medals at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games last year.
The arbitrator who was appointed to decide on the suspension row between Bhaichung Bhutia and Mohun Bagan will give his verdict next week after the oral hearings between the two parties ended in New Delhi on Saturday.
Mohun Bagan on Thursday ridiculed Bhaichung Bhutia's defamation charge against the club saying the Indian football captain has become a "laughing stock" in the bargain.
'After one week, I was told by the head coach of Sporting Lisbon 'you are not good enough, get lost to B team'
East Bengal wasted opportunities galore as bottom-rung Sporting Clube de Goa held the local side 1-1 in their round 23 I-League match at Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Friday.
India captain and East Bengal forward Bhaichung Bhutia, recovering from a hamstring injury, will take two more weeks to be match fit, the red-and-gold coach Philippe de Ridder said in Kolkata on Thursday.
A draw against Bahrain in their final group league match will be enough for India to qualify for the round of 16 for the first time in the continent's showpiece event after failed attempts in 1984 and 2011.
After a 5-3 drubbing against arch-rivals Mohun Bagan, East Bengal coach Subhash Bhowmick said he should quit the job taking moral responsibility of the defeat.
Opposition from national football coach Bob Houghton and captain Bhaichung Bhutia has led to a rethink by the All India Football Federation on the five-foreigner quota in the I-League. The AIFF has also sought views of state associations on the issue.
Mohun Bagan on Saturday opposed the arbitrator's decision to grant interim relief to Bhaichung Bhutia and said they would file a review petition with the All India Football Federation.
His suspension dispute with Mohun Bagan is yet to be resolved, but India captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Wednesday donned the East Bengal jersey and practised at their club tent for the first time this season.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said his government had offered Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia to set up his academy in the state.
East Bengal striker Yusif Yakubu battled through the emotional upheavel of losing his mother on Friday morning and guided his team to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over defending champions Churchill Brothers.
Rathore, Tendulkar lead accolades for Chhetri
The overall voting percentage in the bypolls to 51 assembly seats was nearly 56.84 per cent, the Election Commission said while releasing data available till 7 pm, adding that the polling passed off peacefully.
Star striker Bhaichung Bhutia scored eight minutes from time to guide 10-man East Bengal to a solitary goal win over JCT in their final Group A match and book a berth in the semi-finals of the Federation Cup in Silchar on Sunday.
Visitors East Bengal overcame their injury woes to hand Air India their second consecutive defeat, by a solitary goal, in the seventh round I-League match at the Cooperage in Mumbai on Saturday.
India captain Bhaichung Bhutia will sign a year's 'contract' with East Bengal on Monday, the club's football secretary Santosh Bhattacharya said on Saturday even as the move evoked criticism from Mohun Bagan, who had suspended the ace striker.
The memory of their nightmarish defeat to Mohun Bagan fresh in their minds, East Bengal will take on an upbeat Salgaocar in their round five I-League encounter at Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake in Kolkata on Thursday.
The India football captain admitted there has been a "steady growth" in Indian football since that first day he wore the national shirt.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) may see nothing wrong in allowing five foreigners in each I-League club from this season, but national football captain Bhaichung Bhutia feels that the new rule will let one too many overseas players to compete in the event.
East Bengal squandered chances galore and ended up a playing a goal-less draw against JCT in their round three I-League encounter at the flood-lit Yuba Bharati Krirangan (YBK) in Kolkata on Sunday.
A missed penalty from midfielder Marcos Pereira in the first half proved expensive as Federation Cup champions Mohun Bagan went down 0-1 to Al Karama in the opening Group D encounter of the AFC Cup at the Khaled Ibn Al Waleed Stadium on Tuesday night.
A new-look Mohammedan Sporting have begun their season in style as they beat another Kolkata outfit Kalighat Milaan Sangha 3-1 to reach the semi-final of the 126th Durand Cup Football tournament in New Delhi on Saturday.
The sports fraternity came out in support of Mahendra Singh Dhoni for wearing the dagger insignia on his wicketkeeping gloves during India's World Cup game against South Africa.
The All India Football Federation on Wednesday extended the contract of national team head coach Wim Koevermans by four months till October next year.
Defending champions India lost 0-1 to Maldived in the final of the SAFF championships.
The 72-year-old, also an eminent Congress leader, passed away today after being in coma since 2008, when he had suffered a stroke.
A shaky Mohun Bagan had to sweat before skipper Bhaichung Bhutia's splendid effort earned them a hard-fought 2-1 win over Chirag United and kept them in hunt for the ONGC I-League title at the Vidyasagar Krirangan, in Barasat on Monday.
Mohun Bagan skipper and star striker Bhaichung Bhutia was on Friday ruled out for 15-20 days due to knee and ankle injury dealing a serious blow to the green-and-maroons bid to add to their 12 Federation Cup titles.
With a vintage Jose Ramirez Barreto with his magical charm on display, Mohun Bagan strolled past Chirag United 2-0 to inch closer to leaders Sporting Clube de Goa in the ONGC I-League table.
Ten-man East Bengal held Mohun Bagan to a 1-1 in their fifth outing of the ONGC I-League at Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday night.
Bhaichung Bhutia said the growing dominance of foreign players in domestic football was not detrimental to the Indian game.
The Indian football captain said it was his way of showing solidarity with the people of Tibet.
The prolific striker became the first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals, in his 87th match, when he reduced the margin in the dying minutes as India went down 1-2 to Guam in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
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