Kolkata: The All India Football Federation's (AIFF) disciplinary committee on Tuesday suspended Gokulam Kerala FC midfielder Guilherme Castro for a year and banned East Bengal forward Jobby Justin and Aizawl FC defender Kareem Omolaja for six matches.
Justin and Omolaja were fined Rs 1 lakh for spitting on each other during their I-League clash while Castro was fined Rs 2 lakh for spitting on the referee.
In the match between East Bengal and Aizawl, Justin and Omolaja clashed against each other and the referee showed two yellow cards in succession to the defender and sent him off.
The first was for a rash tackle on Justin and the second for dissent. Later, Aizawl submitted video evidence to AIFF trying to show that Justin had spat on Omolaja.
"The video evidence was carefully examined and the disciplinary committee decided on the bans," I-League CEO Sunando Dhar said. Meanwhile, Brazilian Castro spat on the referee and was sent off in the 81st minute against Shillong Lajong.
East Bengal are still in the title race and would be missing the services of Justin who is their top scorer with nine goals. After 19 matches, East Bengal have 39 points, one adrift of leaders Chennai City FC. Aizawl and Gokulam, on the other hand, survived relegation and will finish the season at the bottom half of the table.
IANS
