Ex-PFF officials divided over Azeem’s suspension issue

KARACHI: Faisal Saleh Hayat-led former PFF and Ashfaq-led former PFF officials are divided over the matter of Royal Eagles Football Club’s official Azeem’s suspension for violating discipline during a national women’s event in Lahore last year.

A senior official of the former Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Shahid Khokhar told ‘The News’ on Friday that Azeem, who was president of Royal Eagles Club which featured at the National Women Football Championship in Lahore last year, had not been suspended.

“Azeem was president of the Royal Eagles Club which featured at the National Women Football Championship in Lahore last year. Yes, he had been accused of violating discipline but his case later was not sent to disciplinary committee as by that time they had handed over the PFF headquarters to Ashfaq-led PFF,” Khokhar said.

He said that they had left all the documents at the headquarters, while handing it over to the Ashfaq-led PFF. Khokhar said that Azeem had been told that he could participate in football activities until the decision of the disciplinary committee.

This correspondent had quoted a source in a story published in ‘The News’ on Friday that Azeem had been suspended for three years last year for assaulting a referee during the National Women Football Championship in Lahore.

The source had raised objection over Punjab women football team that how it could keep a suspended official with it during the ongoing National Women Football Championship.

Meanwhile, Ashfaq-led PFF Manager Competitions Umar Zia claimed on Friday that Azeem and his team had been suspended for three years and fined Rs 50,000.

“I have seen the document that Azeem and his team had been suspended. I don’t have its copy. All the documents are with Shahid Khokhar. Shahid is concealing facts. The videos regarding violating discipline, are also there. Shahid and Azeem were very close but it is a fact that Azeem and his team had been suspended. Yes, players were not suspended,” Umar Zia said.

“Faisal-led group had not given any document to us, while handing over the PFF headquarters. We had told the Normalisation Committee that all documents are with the Faisal-led PFF,” Umar said.