The supporters of Morang FC on Thursday had manhandled referee Pandey at their home ground in Laxmi Marga, Dangi Hath, alleging the referee of officiating match in favor of Three Star which won the match 4-1. Pandey had awarded two controversial penalties to Three Star in the second half as it came from a goal down to beat the home team.According to a bulletin of ANFA, the disciplinary committee of the football governing body has punished three players of Morang - Tek Bahadur Limbu, Surendra Thapa and Sunil Khadka (Jersey No 26). The trio has been suspended for 18 months from all football related activities. Similarly, team coach Parash Chaudhary, a former Nepali international, and manager Chuman Basnet have been suspended for one year. Assistant coach Manish Timilsina has been suspended for 2 years and the team has been fined Rs 50,000.The action taken by ANFA came into effect on Friday.
ANFA states that the punishments were based on the reports of match commissioner, referee assessor, the referee in charge and a doctor. "Referee Sudish Pandey and the assistant referees were manhandled and verbally abused by the three aforementioned players and the three officials. Their behavior also prompted aggressiveness among the home crowd," reads the statement of ANFA posted on its website.
After the completion of the match on Thursday, coach Chaudhary informed that the club had filed official complaint against referee Pandey claiming that he made some wrong decisions in favor of Three Star.
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