Bhutia says legal action an "option" after AIFF ExCo turns down his request to discuss Shajis appointment

Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Monday said he might explore legal options after the All India Football Federation (AIFF) turned down his request for a discussion on the appointment of Shaji Prabhakaran as secretary general during the executive committee meeting here.

Prabhakaran, who was in the electoral college as a representative of Football Delhi, was made the AIFF secretary general a day after former India goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey beat Bhutia 33-1 in the polls for the presidents post on September 2.

Bhutia had alleged that appointing a voter to a salaried post of the federation has an element of “bargaining”. He had requested the AIFF to include the appointment of Prabhakaran in the agenda of executive committee meeting held here on Monday.

“I attended AIFF executive committee meeting today but my request for a discussion on Shajis appointment as secretary general was turned down. I raised the issue, but they said they would focus on the agenda only and there would no discussion on that issue,” Bhutia told

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)