CIAA must thoroughly investigate Ganesh Thapa and ANFA

I know many of you are   vexed   of reading   criticisms   of   President of All Nepal Football Association Ganesh Thapa.  I   am one of the few   who has spent   a great deal of   time criticizing him.

Let me remind you, in   as  much  I was his staunchest supporter in the late 90s , I am his staunchest critic today, especially  on his bad governance , undemocratic  dictatorial leadership.

Understand me; I   do   not   criticize   Mr. Thapa   for the sake of criticizing. Or    I have to or I have an aversion to him. How can I   refrain from   not criticizing him, knowing   he   fully deserves   for his dubious bureaucratic actions.   

Can you possibly imagine   what is going to   happen if Mr.  Thapa  is immune to criticism.  He is a person without checks and balances. As a result, he is so far out of control. Everything has its limit.

After all these years, he continues  his arrogant, corrupt, self- serving  and high-handed ways. And he refuses to acknowledge and learn from mistakes. He has no respect for anyone and thinks he is beyond the rules.

The truth   is, he has become a one way train always going in one direction. I very much   doubt that   he will   ever change, long as he is in office.

I love Nepali football just as much as you do. Even  more I guess.  I   sometimes feel like a lone crusader   fighting for a worthy cause.  It does not   bother me, and   I   am   proud of   what I am doing. And I will continue to do so.

What   can I say to those of   you   who pretend to think   Mr. Thapa   is doing a good job.  I can only say,  “ You are blind to the truth”.

Once again,  Mr. Thapa  finds himself   stuck   in a really deep rut. Whether he is able to get out of the rut and   get his groove back, I don’t know.  We have   to  wait and see. Only time will speak.

One thing I will say, though, the present circumstance surrounding him is grave in nature, with potentially damaging consequences.

At the moment, Mr. Thapa is frantically on his toes, looking for escape routes. No question, he is going full throttle, exhausting his manipulative skills and political connection to wriggle out of the self made conundrum.

In the past   we have seen him   weather storms and come out stronger and bolder.  Remember, two years ago , he was able to douse the fire and calm the situation despite taking illegal payments from disgraced former AFC boss Mr. Hammam in the name of his son.

Everyone knows   Mr. Thapa  then lied through his teeth, turning his son into a scapegoat to save  himself from the disgrace he brought upon himself.

He   shamelessly contended that it was a loan he had taken.  Shockingly, the government   left him off the hook, and the main stream media failed in its duty to pursue the case, as well.

This time, however, the situation is quite different. Mr. Thapa faces a far bigger, vociferous, unified opposition   that is hell bent on taking the fight to the end.

Interestingly, the opposition comprises past and present ANFA officials, coaches and players. The campaign   demanding the government to investigate Mr. Thapa gathered momentum, following revelations made by the British newspaper, “ The Sunday Times”,  that he had received  more illegal money from  Mr. Hammam  .

He  has not   denied or refuted the bribery charges  leveled against him. His silence speaks louder than words. I wonder what he would say now  . Surely, not another personal loan.

The tug-of-war between Mr. Thapa and the dissenting faction has taken a different turn, with the involvement of political parties.

He  enjoys the support of his brother Kamal Thapa and his party RPP, while his opponents have the backing of prominent members of NC and UML. We know he is  a master at  doing things that best suits his interests.

Besides, the ANFA boss  is also accused of misappropriation of funds and abuse of power on the domestic front. Where the investigation is headed, no one has any clue at this point.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse  of Authority(CIAA) must launch a thorough investigation and not succumb to any kind of pressure. Also it is  absolutely imperative  that they investigate   his inner circle  , including the past and present accountants in ANFA.

Some of you, including   a handful of national players   have ridiculously suggested that Mr. Thapa be left alone unchallenged. They have argued that that the ongoing wrangling  is a big distraction, causing more harm than good to Nepal football.

I am sorry to say that   either you are misguided or   forced to believe so. Your support to Mr. Thapa will only backfire. Stay away from petty politics. Do not ruin your career by taking sides on a controversial issue like this.

The bigger issue at stake is cleaning   up, revamping   the  whole  ANFA( from the bottom up) that is plagued by corruption, mismanagement.  You will agree with me  that Mr. Thapa is a disgrace to himself and the nation.

Never before have I   seen Nepal football as divided as cynical as it is today. It is indeed a sad reality. Should Mr. Thapa survive the present crises, it will be a tragedy for Nepal football.