Shillong, Jul 19: More than three months since the season ended and after more back-and-forth than anyone would have wanted, Inter Kashi have now been declared as the I-League 2024-25 champions, taking the title away from Churchill Brothers, who had already been presented with the trophy by the All India Football Federation.
In its ruling on Friday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said that the AIFF had been wrong in ruling the re-registration of a foreign player by Inter Kashi as invalid.
The original controversy came about after Inter Kashi registered Spanish player Mario Barco twice, a move that was challenged and ruled invalid by the AIFF’s competitions committee. That meant the Kashi lost 4 points in matches in which it had fielded Barco after his re-registration.
Barco was initially registered before the season but suffered an injury in December 2024, leading to his replacement by Matija Babovic. However, two months later, Kashi re-registered Barco as a replacement for Juan Pérez del Pino, who had left the club.
According to I-League Regulation 6.5.7, a foreign player can be replaced by another foreign player up to three times in cases of injury, illness, or mutual contract termination. While clubs are permitted three registrations, re-registering a player after an injury that should have ruled him out for the season was considered invalid by the competitions committee.
The AIFF league committee initially overturned this decision but the appeals committee reinstated it. Inter Kashi then took the matter to CAS, which ultimately sided with the club, overturning the penalty. The AIFF wasted no time and congratulated Inter Kashi on their title yesterday.
This is Kashi’s second successful appeal at CAS this season, after it previously won a case against Namdhari FC for fielding the suspended Cledson Da Silva, a decision that awarded Kashi 3 points.
With Friday’s decision, Kashi now have 42 points, enough to clinch the title ahead of Churchill, who dropped to second position with 40 points.
Inter Kashi kept its social media gloating short and simple, merely saying “Trust alone triumphs” (borrowing India’s motto) and “We knew on April 6th (the day the league ended). The World knows today. Inter Kashi. Remember the name!” There has, as yet, been no comment by Churchill Brothers.
Kashi’s dogged determination to lift the trophy appeared to have much to do with promotion to the Indian Super League. However, that entire tournament has been put in doubt as the AIFF has not signed a new Master Rights Agreement with Football Sports Development Ltd.
The MRA, which ends in December, is an agreement that grants FSDL the rights to broadcast, manage and commercialise Indian football, including the national team. Discussions on its renewal have not taken place in the last few weeks as the Supreme Court has paused any big decisions at the AIFF until it rules on a case regarding the federation’s constitution.
The ruling had been expected yesterday but has apparently been postponed.
(Photo: Inter Kashi/Facebook)