GCA to meet on August 27 to ask president to step down

Goa government had threatened to derecognise the GCA.

Panaji: Aug 25, 2014

The Goa Cricket Association (GCA), which is likely to be derecognised by the state government, will meet on August 27 and ask its president to step down, a senior official said on Monday. The managing committee meeting has been called on August 27 to discuss the recent announcement by the state government and future course of action, GCA’s senior vice president Dr Shekhar Salkar told PTI.

The state government had last week threatened to derecognise the cricket body after it failed to keep away its president Vinod Phadke from the managing committee. The Justice Pendse Commission, which investigated the ticket scam of India-Australia match held in 2001 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa, had indicted Phadke along with others and had said that they be kept out of the managing committee.

Salkar said the entire issue would be settled if Phadke steps down from the post. “The cricket body cannot function without help of the state government. It would be disastrous for the body if the state government derecognises it,” he said. The managing committee will request Phadke to step down.

“If he refuses to do so, then we will have to think about our next action,” he said adding that GCA cannot perform well without the government’s support. Goa Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar had said in the Assembly last week that the state-run Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) has already informed GCA that they will withdraw its recognition if the entire managing committee, including some office bearers indicted by a judicial commission in the scam, does not vacate office.

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