NEW DELHI: Referees and linesmen the world over are subject to the choicest abuse by irate players, coaches and fans. Like it or not, it's part of their job. But seldom would have an abuse saved a football federation like Dinesh Nair's racism charge against India's football coach Bob Houghton has rescued the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
As things stand, a golden handshake between the AIFF and Houghton is now only a matter of time - even as early as this weekend.
Sources within the federation cite that officials are quite keen to leverage the racism charge to get rid of the South Africa-based Englishman with immediate effect, as continuing to foot the coach's $30,000 per month salary until his contract ran out in 2013 was causing a huge dent to their already fragile financial condition. Summarily sacking him would also entail paying the entire amount - something to the tune of over Rs 3.2 crore.
It is likely that the removal of Houghton would be delivered shortly, and the see-off will comprise no more than four month's salary as compensation and no further mention of the charge brought up by Nair during the friendly against Yemen in Pune last October.
While Kushal Das, general secretary of the AIFF allayed any such notions insisting that "Bob Houghton's reply (to the racist abuse charge) was still being examined, and no decision had been arrived at", they are eager to see off the matter before the current month is out, because dragging it until May would mean paying the coach another month's salary. Another reason being cited for the apparent rush is that one of the federation's top officials will be unavailable for the remainder of the month due to personal reasons without whom Houghton's ouster cannot be manoeuvred.
When contacted, Houghton who is currently in Goa, refused to comment.
With the AIFF apparently still awaiting the Rs 7.5 crore second installment of the Rs 31 cr deal with their main sponsors (as per the understanding the first installment amount is being used to conduct the I-League), sources indicate that the mood within the cash-strapped federation is very uneasy.
Secure in the knowledge that Houghton would be worried if the charge showed up in an otherwise impressive resume, and subsequently harm his employment opportunities which centres around Asian and African teams, the AIFF promptly played up Nair's charge.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Houghton may have an offer to coach the Hong King national side, and is keen to get out of the Indian mess as soon as possible. In fact, it is understood that the offer for a negotiated compromise may have come from Houghton's lawyers itself, something that the federation is willing to take up given its precarious financial condition.
On the face of it, it seems another coach has fallen to Indian football's ways. This time the players' favourite Houghton.
toi
As things stand, a golden handshake between the AIFF and Houghton is now only a matter of time - even as early as this weekend.
Sources within the federation cite that officials are quite keen to leverage the racism charge to get rid of the South Africa-based Englishman with immediate effect, as continuing to foot the coach's $30,000 per month salary until his contract ran out in 2013 was causing a huge dent to their already fragile financial condition. Summarily sacking him would also entail paying the entire amount - something to the tune of over Rs 3.2 crore.
It is likely that the removal of Houghton would be delivered shortly, and the see-off will comprise no more than four month's salary as compensation and no further mention of the charge brought up by Nair during the friendly against Yemen in Pune last October.
While Kushal Das, general secretary of the AIFF allayed any such notions insisting that "Bob Houghton's reply (to the racist abuse charge) was still being examined, and no decision had been arrived at", they are eager to see off the matter before the current month is out, because dragging it until May would mean paying the coach another month's salary. Another reason being cited for the apparent rush is that one of the federation's top officials will be unavailable for the remainder of the month due to personal reasons without whom Houghton's ouster cannot be manoeuvred.
When contacted, Houghton who is currently in Goa, refused to comment.
With the AIFF apparently still awaiting the Rs 7.5 crore second installment of the Rs 31 cr deal with their main sponsors (as per the understanding the first installment amount is being used to conduct the I-League), sources indicate that the mood within the cash-strapped federation is very uneasy.
Secure in the knowledge that Houghton would be worried if the charge showed up in an otherwise impressive resume, and subsequently harm his employment opportunities which centres around Asian and African teams, the AIFF promptly played up Nair's charge.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Houghton may have an offer to coach the Hong King national side, and is keen to get out of the Indian mess as soon as possible. In fact, it is understood that the offer for a negotiated compromise may have come from Houghton's lawyers itself, something that the federation is willing to take up given its precarious financial condition.
On the face of it, it seems another coach has fallen to Indian football's ways. This time the players' favourite Houghton.
toi
