The Indian Football Association (IFA) on Saturday lifted the two-year ban on star Nigerian striker Chima Okerie at its governing body meeting in Kolkata, allowing the footballer to return to mainstream soccer after a fairly long gap. The governing body discussed the issue before taking the unanimous decision to lift the ban on the player who had appealed to the decision-making body to put an end to his suspension.
“We discussed the matter and the members felt the ban could be lifted since he was repentant about what he had done. It was a unanimous decision,” IFA joint secretary Ranjit Gupta said. The ageing Mohun Bagan striker, whose suspension was due to end on September 30 this year, has, however, been warned not to repeat the mistake in the future. Okerie had appealed to the IFA authorities through a letter to lift the ban so that he could return to football, which was his main profession. His letter was the main agenda of the meeting. Okerie had even volunteered to appear before the IFA governing body members to impress upon the decision-making body to put an end to the suspension. Bureau Report