AMFA Enquiry Commission Report : An Eye-wash

Somorjit Yenkokpam *

The Last Match of 7th edition of Manipur State League football tournament 2012 on 23 October 2012
Pix - Jinendra Maibam

The Enquiry Commission constituted by the All Manipur Football Association [AMFA] with Shri Soram Lokeshwar Singh as one-man commission to investigate into the allegations of match fixing in match Nos. 53 and 55 of the 7th Manipur State League played on 22nd and 23rd October 2012 respectively at Main Stadium, Khuman Lampak, has finally submitted its report to the Executive Council of the AMFA on 10th December 2012.

The Executive Council of the AMFA made the 9 page Commission Report a confidential document and after due discussion and examination of the Report in detail has decided to adopt the recommendations No. 1 and 2 which states that –

Recommendation No. 1 – As the charges of match fixing to AIM and NEROCA cannot be proved for want of sufficient evidence, the two teams may be exonerated.
Recommendation No. 2 – The alleged charges of taking bribe-money from SSU by any of the players or officials of MPSC for fixing the match No. 55 cannot be proved as there is no evidence to substantiate the charges, no sanction can, therefore be imposed to the two clubs for bribery issues.

As a result the AMFA lifted the impositions on the 4 clubs involved in the Enquiry and expressed 'deep regrets on the incident and decided to take up all measures to check the recurrence of such incidents in all its future activities.'

Thus, all is well that ends well, or so the Executive Council of the AMFA thinks.

But, pardon me if I beg to differ. As a lover of the beautiful game called Football, I and hundreds of football enthusiasts in the State, could never accept the vague judgement of The Executive Council of the AMFA as the recommendations of the Enquiry Commission is quite predictable and constitution of the One-man Enquiry Commission by the AMFA is only an eye-wash to fool the general public and save the clean image of The Executive Council of the AMFA.

Allow me argue the following points –

1. AIFF kept in the dark ? -
The Office Memorandum of the AMFA dated 11 December 2012 which copies are made available to the press, DSAs/DFAs and all MSL Clubs for information, quite surprisingly doesn't seemed to be copied to the All India Football Federation [AIFF], which is the apex governing body of football in the country of which AMFA is an affiliate,
It seems the AIFF is always kept in the dark of the scandal in the 7th MSL 2012 and the constitution of the One-man Enquiry Commission, for reasons best known to the Executive Council of the AMFA.

2. Incomplete and vague Enquiry Commission -
Whereas the Commission recorded the statements of the General Secretaries of the AIM, NEROCA and SSU, the coach of MPSC, and Match Commissioner, another 5 [five] deponents which the Commission found necessary for the investigation failed to appear before the Commission [as stated in the Office Memorandum of the AMFA]

It proves that the investigation is incomplete and the one-man commission could not arrive to a definite conclusion.

3. 'Match Fixing' may not necessarily involve bribe-money –
Please refer to Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia for a clear meaning of Match-fixing -
''In organized sports, match fixing, race fixing or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Games that are deliberately lost are sometimes called thrown games. When a team intentionally loses a game, or does not score as high as it can, to obtain a perceived future competitive advantage (for instance, earning a high draft pick) rather than gamblers being involved, the team is often said to have tanked the game instead of having thrown it.

Match fixing to a draw or a fixed score -
Match fixing does not necessarily involve deliberately losing a match. Occasionally, teams have been accused of deliberately playing to a draw or a fixed score where this ensures some mutual benefit.''

Recommendation No. 3 of the AMFA Enquiry Commission clearly admits that – 'Throwing away the game or trying to lose the game on purpose by MPSC by deliberate underperformance for convenience of manipulation of results is against the spirit of true sportsmanship and is liable to be checked as the AMFA thinks proper'

Here, according to the Commission, the concluding match of the 7th Manipur State League 2012 played between MPSC and SSU is definitely a thrown game, and it amounts to match fixing even though involvement of a bribe-money or a pre-match deal could not be established in the absence of any prima-facie evidence.

4. FIFA Disciplinary Code -
The AIFF and the AMFA must be governed by the FIFA Disciplinary Code as the AMFA is affiliated to the AIFF and the AIFF is a member of the FIFA and I could not find any independent Disciplinary Code of the AIFF in its website, whereas the AMFA does not have a website at all.

Please refer to the FIFA Disciplinary Code of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association for a clearer understanding of Match-fixing in Football and imposition of sanctions.

First Title – Substantive Law Chapter II – Special Part
Section 10. Unlawfully influencing match results [Page -41]

1. Anyone who conspires to influence the result of a match in a manner contrary to sporting ethics shall be sanctioned with a match suspension or a ban on taking part in any football-related activity as well as a fine of at least CHF 15,000. In serious cases, a lifetime ban on taking part in any football related activity shall be imposed.

2. In the case of a player or official unlawfully influencing the result of a match in accordance with par. 1, the club or association to which the player or official belongs may be fined. Serious offences may be sanctioned with expulsion from a competition, relegation to a lower division, a points deduction and the return of awards.

So, why is the AMFA going soft to the two teams involved in the match fixing of the concluding game of the 7th Manipur State League Football Tournament 2012 played on 23 October 2012, at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in front of hundreds of football enthusiasts of the State, football experts, a Cabinet Minister, the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, a MLA who also sponsors the Winner's trophy containing a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakhs.

Just feeling regrets on the incident and deciding to take up measures to check the recurrence of such incidents in future won't be the right conclusion of the AMFA. It will only cast an image of distortion and corruption within the AMFA in the minds of the football lovers of the State in general and particularly the Anouba Imagi Mangal [AIM] Football Club whose long cherished dream of winning the coveted Manipur State League crown has been abruptly curtailed by the ugly event of a thrown match which the Managing Committee of the Manipur State League, the premier football tournament of State, was unable to check at all and when the Executive Council of the AMFA seemed interested only in saving its clean image at the expense of a decline in quality of Football and footballers in Manipur.