BETTER senses prevailed as the Executive Committee of Nagpur District Football Association’s (NDFA) rejected the resignation letter of President Haresh Vora who had put in his papers to be relieved from the post with immediate effect on Saturday. The NDFA, in its emergent meeting held under the presidentship of Atmaram Pandey on Sunday, rejected Vora’s resignation. Bone of contention was the Rs 50,000 imposed on Young Muslim Football Club (YMFC) by the NDFA for abusing NDFA referee during last month’s Dr Nitin Raut Football Tournament. Vora had told ‘The Hitavada’ on Saturday that he enjoys good rapport with both YMFC President Kamil Ansari and NDFA office bearers. “I have good relations with Kamil bhai and also with my executive committee members. But safety of referees is paramount.

 

When I suggest reduction in fine, many executive committee members opposed it. But later they accepted to Rs 30,000 as fine. But now, YMFC President wants it to be reduced to Rs 11,000 which I and NDFA are against. Everybody wants my support and nobody wants to support my decision. Hence I have decided to resign,” Vora had said. In the Sunday meeting, Ansari agreed to pay the reduced fine of Rs 30,000 (from the original proposed fine of Rs 50,000). And, in fact, he paid first instalment of Rs 10,000 on Sunday itself. He asked for two months time to pay the remaining fine amount to which the NDFA committee members agreed, informs Iqbal Kashmiri, Secretary, NDFA. On Vora’s resignation, Ansari said that if the committee accepts his papers, then he would ensure that YMFC, multiple times former champions of the NDFA Elite League, would also pull out of the tournament. Committee members finally decided not to accept Vora’s resignation and Kashmiri forwarded the decision to Pandey in a report.