The Hindu : Sport / Football : Eligibility criteria: Two varsities to move court

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 19, 2004

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Sport - Football

Eligibility criteria: Two varsities to move court

By Our Sports Reporter

KANNUR, OCT. 18. Two universities from Kerala — MG and Kerala — have decided to move the court against the participation of some of the players of Annamalai (claiming that they didn't meet the eligibility criteria) in the ongoing South Zone inter-university football championship here.

The team members of MG, which lost to Annamalai in the quarterfinals earlier, will file a writ petition in the Kerala High Court on Tuesday demanding to prohibit Annamalai from playing in the All-India inter-university championship, to be held at Amaravati, Maharashtra, from October 30, and instead to allow MG to compete.

Kerala will also move the court soon, according to Dr. George Thomas, Head, Department of Physical Education. "We know that the complaint we lodged today with the organising committee would be dismissed, and that leaves court as the only option for us," he said.

MG had lodged a complaint with the organising committee here after its match against Annamalai on October 15, which was dismissed.

The bone of contention is the presence of some open university students in the Annamalai team.

"These players are not eligible as per the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) rules," alleged Dr. George. "They haven't passed the 12th Class or an equivalent examination."

Dr. K. Sreedhar, a lecturer at the Department of Physical Education, Annamalai University, who has accompanied the team, however, said that the players were eligible.

"They have passed the Qualification Examination, which is equivalent to the examination prescribed by the AIU," he said.

The organising secretary Dr. P.T. Joseph explained why MG's complaint was dismissed.

"We could only accept what a university says about an examination it conducts. We cannot judge whether it's equivalent or not to the one prescribed by the AIU. The Annamalai team has presented a certificate from its Director of Physical Education that these players are eligible."

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