The Goa police had earlier taken Deepak Sharma into custody on charges of abusing two women footballers from Khad FC. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday voted to suspend Deepak Sharma, a member of its executive committee, until further notice. Sharma was taken into custody by the Goa police on suspicion of abusing two women footballers from Khad FC following a complaint by the host state's association. But he was released on bail after that. Due to his alleged physical assault against two players, Sharma was suspended.
The players played for the Indian Women's Football (IWL) League second tier team based in Himachal Pradesh. Club owner Sharma is accused of forcing his way into the players' quarters on March 28 and beating them up. The AIFF panel investigating the alleged incident asked Sharma to refrain from all football-related activities pending the conclusion of the investigation. "The AIFF Executive Committee has decided to suspend Mr. Deepak Sharma from any football related activities until further notice," the AIFF said in a press statement. According to the AIFF's media statement, the emergency committee discussed the "IWL 2 incident in Goa" and the complaints lodged by the players against Sharma.
On the same day, representatives of the AIFF member associations met for a meeting. After being called and listening for a while, Sharma was instructed to leave the meeting. Both players said in their complaint to the AIFF that they were "fearing for their lives" and that Sharma was drunk. The AIFF decided to dissolve the three-member panel that was constituted on March 30 to look into the case on Tuesday. Its disciplinary committee is tasked with solving this situation. “The AIFF will take all necessary measures to ensure the promotion of women's football in a safe and supportive atmosphere.
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said: "The case has now been referred to the Disciplinary Committee and will be dealt with urgently". "AIFF has taken all steps necessary to ensure the safe passage of the complainants to their hometowns and will continue to provide all support that may be necessary".
