Arbitrator to meet Bhutia,Mohun Bagan authorities on Tuesday

“The hearing is at 6 pm tomorrow and I will represent Bhutia’s case in front of the arbitrator appointed to resolve the case. I don’t want to make any comment before a decision comes out in the case,” Bhutia’s legal counsel said.

Mohun Bagan will be represented by its general secretary Anjan Mitra who will be accompanied by senior lawyer Gita Nath Ganguly.

“The meeting is scheduled at the arbitrator’s residence in New Delhi. We are hopeful of an outcome. The AIFF has appointed a senior Supreme Court lawyer in former Additional Solicitor General of India,Amarendra Sharan and we feel he will do justice and hope he would not take any decision that will collapse the entire administration,” Mitra said.

Reflecting on the case dragging since June,Mitra said,“This is a unique case as normally an arbitrator is appointed after a judgement. But here the AIFF and IFA have failed to give a judgement and the arbitrator has been appointed. We are not raising any issue about it but it will set a precedent,” Mitra said.

Bhutia was suspended for six months without pay by Mohun Bagan in June for missing a few team training sessions and an exhibition match.

He made an appeal to the IFA but later the AIFF took up the matter. The national body’s Players’ Status Committee,however,failed to decide on the matter as one member refused to give his opinion.

The AIFF then asked its outgoing General Secretary Alberto Colaco to mediate between Mohun Bagan and Bhutia.

After Colaco could not find a solution,the AIFF Executive Committee in its meeting on August 30 had decided to refer the matter to an arbitrator.