What’s the story?
The Nicolai Adam story has taken a new turn today, with Indian Sports Minister Vijay Goel declaring that the sports ministry will take the final call on whether the German will be sacked or not.
“We sought a report from AIFF and we have received it. We made the appointment on being asked by AIFF. The ministry is paying a salary to the coach. So, without the ministry’s consent, nobody can remove the coach. The federation has no right to sack the coach,” Goel said to expresssport.com.
Goel added, “We are seeing the report and it cannot be analysed in two days. We will speak to the coach, to players, because many times there are some doubts. Federation will be given some weight because the promotion of a sport is their responsibility.”
The minister also said that in case Nicolai is eventually removed, they will quickly name a replacement. “We will not delay. In case the coach is removed we will appoint another one fast. We will do it in two days.”
In case you didn’t know..
The All India Football Federation was in a spot of bother recently, when reports emerged that Nicolai Adam, the coach of the Under-17 men’s team, had physically abused four boys in the squad and their parents had filed a complaint to AIFF head Praful Patel. They had also mentioned assistant coach Etibar Nizami Ibrahimov in their complaints.
The Indian organisation had first denied any such rumours, but on further examination, it is clear that such a situation did indeed arise. With just over eight months to go for the Under-17 FIFA World Cup, it reflects poorly on the AIFF and also disturbs the team’s preparations.
The heart of the matter
Patel had apparently asked Adam to step down of his own volition or be sacked, after receiving and examining the claims on 24th January. However, the former Under-19 Azerbaijan manager apparently denied the allegations, stating it was nothing but tough love. The problem had thus reached an impasse, before the sports ministry finally intervened.
What’s next?
It is reasonable to expect the ministry thoroughly examine the matter, and then reach a decision. Adam supposedly committed the discrepancy when the youngsters were playing away in Russia, so a proper documentation of facts will take time.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Whatever decision the ministry takes, it is obvious that the AIFF has handled the situation extremely poorly but with Praful Patel in charge, it really does not come as a shock. One hopes that a consensus is reached swiftly, since the longer this is stretched, the worse our preparations for the showpiece event, which is scheduled for October, will be.
