By Jagannath Chatterjee

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS): Minerva Punjab FC owner Ranjit Bajaj has been asked by the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) Ethics Committee, headed by chairman Amod Kanth, to appear before it on September 14 after he was earlier showcaused for pushing out derogatory, damaging, unethical tweets/retweets from his verified Twitter accounts against AIFF, its officials and commercial partners.

Speaking to IANS, the Ethics Committee chairman confirmed the development and said: "I have examined the whole thing and I have asked him to come and appear before us. And most likely he will be coming on the 14th of this month. We are going to hold a proceeding. The entire team will be there, all the members of my committee and Bajaj will also be given an opportunity to explain whatever he has to."

Asked whether Bajaj sent a reply to the show cause notice sent to him by the AIFF, Kanth said: "He has given a detailed reply and that is in consideration. But I thought why not hear him also."

Bajaj was served the showcause notice by AIFF's Ethics Committee on July 10 and asked to reply within 15 days regarding his actions and its effect on the image of Indian football and the federation. The notice pointed at around 45 derogatory, damaging and unethical tweets/retweets made by the I-League team owner.