Bhaichung Bhutia slams AIFF, Sunil Chhetri's father-in-law questions retirement u-turn: ‘Kalyan Chaubey has destroyed…'
India's 2027 AFC Asian Cup campaign hangs by a thread after their shock 0-1 defeat to Hong Kong.
With India’s 2027 AFC Asian Cup ambitions taking a massive hit on Tuesday, legendary footballer and ex-national team captain Bhaichung Bhutia has slammed the All India Football Federation. Bhutia blamed the AIFF for Indian football’s current situation, and his comments came after the stunning 0-1 defeat to Hong Kong in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
Substitute Stefan Pereira’s stoppage time penalty proved to be the winner for Hong Kong as India are now bottom of Group C with one point in two matches. Singapore are on top with four points, followed by Hong Kong in second position and Bangladesh in third.
Also Read: Manolo Marquez to request AIFF to remove him as Indian head coach after deflating loss vs Hong Kong: Report
Speaking to PTI, Bhutia said, “It's very painful to see... we are definitely struggling now to even qualify for the Asia Cup, which we've been qualifying for regularly.”
“Countries like Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Jordan have qualified for the World Cup, and we are still struggling for the Asia Cup. Very unfortunate.”
Bhutia also publicly called out AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, asking him to resign. He was beaten by Chaubey in the AIFF presidential election in September 2022. He said, “Kalyan Chaubey has destroyed Indian football. Chaubey has to resign and leave. He has completely destroyed it. Three General Secretaries in two-and-a-half years -- the entire structure, the system will have to be changed.”
“Controversy after controversy, corruption charge... even after months now we don't know who the I-League winner is.”
He also questioned the decision to recall Sunil Chhetri from international retirement. He asked, “It was nice of him to come out of retirement, but it was a completely bad decision. Manolo should not have requested, and now we hear the Federation pushed for it. But what's changed?”
“There is nothing happening at the grassroots. It's all negative news off the field, and that reflects on the national team's performance.
“You're paying ₹42 lakh for one game. Why not link it to qualification? It just shows how clueless the management is,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chhetri’s father-in-law Subrata Bhattacharya, who is also a former legendary player and coach, spoke on Chhetri’s return to the team. He said, “It's his personal decision, but if it was done to serve someone's personal interest, it's wrong.”
The qualification campaign consists of four more games, and India will be visiting Singapore and Bangladesh for their remaining away fixtures. Meanwhile, they will have also two home matches vs Singapore and Hong Kong.
