ANFA bans Shrestha, Basnet

Kathmandu, February 26

The All Nepal Football Association today banned Saraswoti Youth Club skipper Dipesh Shrestha and slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 for his involvement in match fixing in the Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial A Division League.

In the first-ever such action regarding match fixing in domestic football, the ANFA also suspended Yeti Himalayan Sherpa Club team manager Bijendra Pudasaini for three months along with a fine of Rs 30,000 and warned Himalayan Sherpa goalkeeper coach Min Bahadur Basnet.

The Disciplinary Committee had decided the punishments following a probe after Saraswoti Youth Club registered an unlikely 3-2 victory over Himalayan Sherpa in their unsuccessful bid to avoid relegation from top flight.

In a letter undersigned by the ANFA General Secretary Indra Man Tuladhar, the football governing body said all three individuals were found to have breached the article 21(7) of tournament regulation which relates to inappropriate behaviour to influence a match. The Disciplinary Committee had opened probe after the match and interrogated a number of players and officials before reaching the conclusion. Despite the victory, Saraswoti were relegated to B division.