The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has sent the videotapes of the controversial Santosh Trophy quarterfinal match between Manipur and Goa [Images] to AFC and decided not to assign any match to Saji Kurian who officiated in the November 7 match in Kochi.
The match, which in Kochi was marred with controversy after Manipur protested to a goal in the second half contending that the referee started the play before its players could return to their half.
The decision led to an argument between the Manipur players and the referee.
Eventually, the issue snowballed into a huge crisis with Manipur deciding to boycott all AIFF events besides statewide agitations.
AIFF last month announced to retain Goa as the champions of the Santosh Trophy rejecting Manipur's appeal after the federation reviewed the video recording of the game.
However, the issue was far from settled and AIFF decided to approach Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to solve the issue.
"Pending the outcome of the (AFC) report, the AIFF has taken a decision not to provide any NFL match to referee Mr Saji Kurian," an AIFF release said in Delhi on Tuesday.
UNI