On June 10, 2023, the All Nepal Football Association published an article titled ‘APF relegated after Three Star win, Machhindra conclude league with win’.

“APF Football Club have been relegated to the B division,” the article read, “after Three Star Club defeated Jawalakhel Youth Club in the Qatar Airways Martyr’s Memorial A Division League 2023 on Saturday.”

For Three Star, a club with a storied legacy in Nepal’s domestic football, the win against Jawalakhel was a must to prevent their relegation. The decisive moment came late into the game: Bikram Lama scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute. And with that, one of Nepal’s most-loved clubs kept themselves in the top tier.

APF finished 13th and were accompanied by FC Khumaltar, which finished 14th, to the B Division.

This, however, was not the whole story.

APF registered a protest against Three Star claiming that the visas of two of their overseas players’—Ajayi Martins and Peter Segun—had expired during their last game against Jawalakhel.

Based on the protest, ANFA’s Disciplinary Committee, at the end of 2023, imposed a fine of Rs50,000 each on the two players and Rs300,000 on the club.

However, the decision made neither APF nor Three Star satisfied, and both went to the Appeal Committee. Under the ANFA structure and regulations, the Disciplinary Committee looks after a protest, and if a side is dissatisfied with the result, they can appeal to the Appeal Committee.

APF wanted not only the financial punishment, but also the overturning of the match result against Jawalakhel. So they took the matters to the Appeal Committee. Three Star, on the other hand, appealed as they were firm that they should not even be fined.

Six months later, the Appeal Committee announced its decision. The decision stated that since Three Star fielded two ineligible players, Three Star’s win over Jawalakhel could not be accepted, and, based on the FIFA Disciplinary Code and AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code, Three Star were handed a 0-3 defeat.

APF, which were with 30 points, then climbed over Three Star, which now had 29 points after the Appeal Committee’s decision. Three Star, a four-time A Division League Champion, then got relegated for the first time since their top-tier debut in 2039BS (1982).

Established in 1974, Three Star are a much younger club compared to the likes of Boys’ Union Club (1952), New Road Team (1934), Sankata FC (1950), Nepal Police FC (1952) and Tribhuvan Army FC (1951), among others.

But, in a short time, Three Star, which represented the area around the Patan Durbar Square, rose to fame. The fame was not only limited to Patan, but around the country.

Much has changed in Nepali domestic football in the intervening decades. The craze for football is not the same anymore, with clubs struggling to pull fans to the games.

And when they got relegated after the ANFA Appeal Committee’s decision, Three Star suffered a big blow.

‘A big relief’

Dissatisfied with the decision of the Appeal Committee, Three Star had knocked on the doors of the Patan High Court on July 2 last year. The defendants on the writ demanding to overturn the decision were ANFA and its disciplinary and appeal committees, ANFA President Pankaj Bikram Nembang and General Secretary Kiran Rai, alongside the National Sports Council, Ministry of Youth and Sports, and APF Club.

The High Court did not issue an interim order at first. It was followed by a series of hearings where the court asked for proof and listened to the debate by the advocates of the two sides.

It was on Wednesday that the joint bench of Justices Shreedhara Kumari Pudasaini and Krishna Murari Siwakoti ordered in favour of Three Star Club.

“The phones of the executive members of the club have been ringing continuously since yesterday with the well-wishers congratulating us,” Jaya Krishna Shrestha, one of the club’s vice presidents, told the Post as he sat with his club members at the Three Star Cafe on the Patan Durbar Square premises on Thursday.

Three Star Cafe is run by Three Star Club, and it is a gathering place for club members and fans. “I did not sleep at all last night,” Shrestha, who is also a former national player, said. “It was due to over-excitement.”

Gyan Bahadur Shakya, the immediate past president of the club, was also smiling by Shrestha’s side. “It is a big relief to see the court favouring us,” he said with a grin. “It has given the club a reason to keep its pride intact.”

Shrestha argued that they were not at fault in the case. “We fielded Peter and Ajayi after they were registered in the FIFA Connect and the permission by the then Match Commissioner,” he added. “If they were disallowed, we would not have inducted them to the squad.”

FIFA Connect is a platform for member associations to ‘register all their relative football stakeholders and manage them in a cohesive digital platform’.

Moreover, Shrestha argued that only the opponent can file a protest against the other, that too within two hours of the conclusion of the respective match.

Rule 28 of the regulation for the Martyr’s Memorial A Division League 2023 states that only an opponent can protest.

“There were several mistakes made by ANFA, but we were the ones who were penalised,” said Shrestha.

Though the court order has given Three Star Club relief, Shrestha said that they would seek compensation from the governing body of Nepali football.

“APF are playing in the National League instead of us. We could not play in several gold cups,” Shrestha said. “We will finally be playing in the upcoming Birat Gold Cup as the defending champion.”

Meanwhile, Shrestha also raised questions over the ongoing National League, where many of their players are playing for other clubs after Three Star could not.

“APF are currently at the top of the table in the tournament. What will happen if they win?” he questioned. “Will they be allowed by the AFC to play in the AFC club tournament that ANFA has promised to the National League champion?”

Shrestha noted that it would be a while before the full verdict of the court order is out. The verdict is most likely to be out only after the elections. “But we are happy as the decision has come in our favour,” he said. “We will now move forward strongly.”