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New Delhi: In a shocking incident, two women footballers of Khad FC, a Himachal Pradesh-based club, have brought some serious allegations against Deepak Sharma, an executive committee member of the All India Football Federation – the governing body of the sport in the country. According to the footballers, Sharma assaulted them in an inebriated state in a hotel room during the ongoing Indian Women’s League 2 in Goa. The footballers lodged a complaint with the AIFF on Friday while the assault is said to have taken place on Thursday.
According to the footballers, “Yesterday (Thursday), as the dinner was over, we went to our rooms to boil eggs. Due to this reason, Deepak Sharma got offended and stormed into our room. He slapped us, assaulted us physically,” Sharma is general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Football Association and deputy chairman of the AIFF’s competitions committee.
The footballers also said that Sharma was drunk when the incident took place and that he was drinking in front of them while they were travelling from Himachal Pradesh to Goa.
The report adds that the players said Sharma was perennially in an “inebriated (drunken) state” and carried alcohol with him when Khad FC travelled from Himachal Pradesh to Delhi before the league. “He was drinking in front of us,” the report quotes the players as saying in the complaint.
The Himachal Pradesh-based Khad FC outfit is in Goa to compete in IWL 2. Sharma is Himachal Pradesh Football Association’s general secretary and deputy chairman of AIFF’s competitions committee.
The report added that the footballers said they were scared for their lives, prompting Goa Football Association (GFA) officials to go to the team hotel where the team’s manager gave a written assurance, guaranteeing the players’ safety. “I take responsibility for all the girls and will drop the players safely at their homes. Nothing will go wrong,” manager Nanalita Sharma told GFA as per the report.
GFA also informed Mapusa police in writing that “some girls were assaulted by Deepak Sharma, one of the accompanying members of the team, who was allegedly in an inebriated condition,” the report further mentioned.
The complaint has been received by AIFF officials and sent to its safety and safeguarding officer for suitable action. “I have just seen the complaint copy and am rushing to see the team at the hotel. Such things cannot be tolerated. The AIFF will deal with this accordingly,” the report quotes Valanka Alemao, chairperson of the AIFF women’s football committee, as saying.
