A dayy after being suspended by the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA), ST Stanislaus School's coaches have accused the city school body of high-handedness
Football coaches Jubal Solomon, Hycinth Cardoz and Trevor Fernandes were suspended for a period of two years on disciplinary grounds after Stanislaus made their
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U-12 players wear black arm-bands in protest of a decision and having created problems during the U-14 football and U-16 hockey prize distribution ceremonies.
Jubal Solomon, who is also the Bandra school’s hockey coach, said: “Even if someone commits a grave crime in our country, he is entitled to a hearing to prove his innocence before being convicted. Our matter could have been resolved amicably, but MSSA never felt the need to talk to us. MSSA appears to be targeting one of the most high profile schools to show who is boss.”
Meanwhile, Fernandes claims that he was not intimated about the ban.
“It came in as a surprise when I saw my name appear in the newspaper as one of three banned coaches. MSSA have only sent letters to the school regarding the ban of Hycinth Cardoz and Jubal Solomon and a fine on me. MSSA has not yet informed the school regarding the ban on me. So it comes in as a complete shock,” said Fernandes.
On Monday, MSSA decided to revoke the two-year ban on St Stanislaus and instead imposes a fine of Rs 10,000 on the hockey and football teams. They also demoted the football team to from Div II to Div III.
Solomon hit out against the decision to fine the school. “MSSA have been using both the football and hockey grounds of Stanislaus for which they have never been charged. So I think that the fines are unwarranted.” u00a0