All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey has broken his silence regarding allegations of harassment and “heckling” raised by Executive Committee member Valanka Alemao. Chaubey challenged the very premise of the complaint, questioning the meaning of “heckle” and denying any inappropriate behaviour during the executive meeting.

Alemao, who also serves on the FIFA Women’s Development Committee, had written to FIFA Ethics Committee chair Martin Ngoga and FIFA Women’s Football Committee chair Laura Georges on March 30, requesting an inquiry under FIFA statutes. In her letter, Alemao alleged that Chaubey, along with AIFF Vice President N.A. Haris and Deputy Secretary General Satyanarayan, made “unnecessary and disrespectful” remarks and repeatedly raised their voices “beyond an acceptable decibel” to intimidate her.

Responding to the allegations, Chaubey questioned the context of the claims. “Somebody needs to ask what the meaning of ‘heckle’ is. What was that? There were 13 EC members in that boardroom. So, what is the meaning of heckle and what is ‘raising voice’? That is what I want to know,” he said. He added that the meeting included dignified members, including the sports minister of Mizoram and the Chairman of the parallel development committee, and that there was no reason for anyone to be heckled.

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Chaubey also disputed Alemao’s reference to decibel levels. “She said the deputy secretary’s voice was more than decibel, a higher decibel. Is there a specific decibel described that you can speak in?” he remarked, while maintaining that no harassment, gender-based discrimination, or differential treatment occurred during the meeting. “There’s no allegation against me. I don’t have to defend myself or give any clarification. There is no heckling, no harassment, no men, no women, and no different behaviour,” he said.

The controversy originates from an AIFF executive committee meeting convened to discuss the adoption of the National Sports Governance Act and a landmark 20-year commercial bid for the federation. Chaubey emphasised that the meeting focused solely on these two agenda points, involving state associations and commercial matters, and that no other topics were discussed.

He concluded by urging critics to consider the logic of the meeting. “It’s a boardroom. Everyone is representing themselves in the same capacity. You can either agree with the logic or you can disagree with the logic,” Chaubey said, underlining his stance that the allegations are unfounded.

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