I-League 2017/18: 5 more Minerva Punjab players approached for match-fixing, AIFF reports to AFC

What's the story?

I-League club Minerva Punjab FC's co-owner Ranjit Bajaj revealed another incident of his team's players being approached to fix I-League matches this season.

In case you didn't know...

Minerva Punjab FC, who are playing their second season in the I-League after debuting as the corporate entry last year are having a dream run this season.

However, this is the second incident of match-fixing approaches being made to the members of the Minerva outfit. The earlier incident was reported by Sportskeeda on January 18 when Bajaj had complained to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and All India Football Federation (AIFF) about the illegal practices.

The heart of the matter

Bajaj is a popular figure amongst the Indian football fans on Twitter as he is very active on the platform. He tweeted on Sunday that five of his players have been approached to fix I-League matches this season, taking the total count to seven.

Another low 4 INDIAN FOOTBALL with another 5 yes five of my players being asked 2 fix matches in @ILeagueOfficial taking da Number upto 7 being approached in da last week/Media-direct all questions 2aiff integrity officer as can’t comment 🤐

— Ranjit Bajaj (@THE_RanjitBajaj) January 28, 2018

The Minerva owner further said the fact that Minerva is the only Indian club to have come forward and reported this matter is a more serious issue to ponder on.

🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽😢😢 and being the first club in history of Indian football to report a match fixing attempt is a more serious fact to ponder on 😡😡 can’t Believe it

— Ranjit Bajaj (@THE_RanjitBajaj) January 28, 2018

What's next?

AIFF integrity officer Javed Siraj informed Sportskeeda that steps would be taken on this matter. "It's true that Bajaj had reported the incident to AIFF and I can give a full proof guarantee that we would take required steps on this matter. Minerva are leading the I-League at this point in time and we should be careful that these illegal practices don't affect the teams."

Both Minerva Punjab and AIFF have taken up the matter with AFC. "Bajaj has reported the issue to AFC and we have also done the same. Now, we await further action on this," said another AIFF official.

Author's take

Match-fixing is a shameful aspect of the beautiful game and Bajaj has done admirably well to constantly report these incidents. AIFF should act quickly on this issue so that Indian football isn't hampered any further.