The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Thursday disclosed that numerous players from the I-League were recently targeted for "match manipulation."
The AIFF, led by president Kalyan Chaubey, pledged to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. While details such as the source of the information, the specific players involved and the identities of those making the approaches were not provided by Chaubey, he underscored the federation's unwavering commitment to preserving the integrity of the sport.
"We have received information of multiple approaches to our players. We will thoroughly examine the incidents, investigate and take all necessary action," Chaubey said in a statement.
"We are committed to protecting our players and our beautiful game and will not tolerate any attempts of this nature to put the players and the game at risk," he said.
The 2023 I-League season kicked off in October, witnessing the completion of over 40 matches in the 13-team competition.
"We will also continue to strengthen our institutional capacities to not only counter such threats but also educate our players and officials on how to recognise, respond to and report incidents of this nature," said Chaubey.
The AIFF has acknowledged the gravity of the issue and emphasized its unwavering commitment to a zero-tolerance policy regarding any actions that compromise the integrity of its competitions or tarnish the reputation of football.
"AIFF is committed to taking every step within its power to prevent corrupt practices from undermining the values of football," it said.
Instances of corrupt practices in Indian football are not novel. In 2018, the AIFF formally announced an investigation into match-fixing approaches directed at players from the Minerva Punjab Football Club during the I-League.
In November of the preceding year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated a preliminary enquiry into suspected match-fixing within football matches across the nation.
Throughout the inquiry, the CBI gathered documents from the AIFF pertaining to various Indian football clubs. The focus of scrutiny was the purported involvement of a match fixer, situated in Singapore, in manipulating match outcomes.
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