APF Football Club has strongly criticized the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) for its prolonged delay in addressing the club’s appeal against Three Star Club. The complaint stems from the final match of the 2079 A Division League, where Three Star defeated Jawalakhel Youth Club 1-0. APF Football Club claims that the victory was unfair as Three Star fielded two foreign players—Peter Segun and Ajayi Martins—without valid visas during the match. That loss led to APF’s relegation from the league.
The day after the match, APF filed a formal complaint. In response, ANFA’s Disciplinary Committee penalized Three Star Club in Poush 2080, issuing a fine of Rs. 300,000 to the club and Rs. 50,000 each to the two players. However, both APF Football Club and Three Star rejected the ruling, calling it flawed and lacking in proper legal backing.
According to APF, the Disciplinary Committee’s decision failed to align with FIFA’s disciplinary guidelines. The club insists that if a team uses ineligible players, the match should automatically be awarded to the opponent and additional penalties should follow. APF has demanded that the result of the game be overturned, declaring them the winners.
Three Star Club responded by blaming delays in the league schedule for the players’ visa issues. They argued that the punishment ignored the procedural nature of the delay and even sent a letter to ANFA claiming the decision was against the spirit of football and fundamentally flawed.
Despite APF submitting official immigration documents and citing international precedents—like Real Madrid’s 2015 expulsion from the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player—ANFA’s Appeal Committee has still not made a decision. The matter remains unresolved more than 18 months later.
To make things worse, ANFA recently decided not to allow APF’s participation in the U-16 League, further angering the club. Club manager and Armed Police Inspector Vijay KC said that ANFA’s delay has affected APF’s overall planning and football development programs. “We’ve waited over 18 months. The appeal committee still hasn’t made a decision. This delay is seriously affecting our plans,” he said.
KC stressed that similar cases in international football have resulted in teams being declared losers for fielding ineligible players. “We’ve seen similar examples in FIFA qualifiers and club tournaments. We hope ANFA will follow both its own and FIFA’s rules,” he added.
Interestingly, ANFA’s Appeal Committee recently resolved a separate case involving B Division player Dhirendra Shah within the same month, reportedly after receiving a directive from FIFA. However, the APF vs. Three Star case continues to sit idle without a verdict, causing growing frustration for the APF camp.
APF remains hopeful that ANFA will make a fair and timely decision, following international standards and giving justice to the club affected by the violation.
