THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite the hue and cry raised by football lovers and politicians in the state, India international footballer C K Vineeth has been sacked from his job at the Accountant General's Office here.
An order regarding the termination of the footballer's contract as an Auditor was issued on May 17, 2017, by the Office of the Principal Accountant General, Kerala confirming the rumours.
Commenting on the situation, Vineeth had said that he will continue playing professional football irrespective of the decision. "What I am now is because of the professional league. I was called up to the national team for my performance playing in the I-League and ISL. I will continue to play there," Vineeth said.
The order said that Vineeth's services have been "terminated with effect from May 7, 2016" as his "probation was not declared to have been successfully completed before the extended period of two years, which ended on May 6, 2016".
It said that a memo was issued in December 2015 to Vineeth intimating that if he failed to join duty immediately, his services would stand terminated with effect from May 6, 2016.
The AG's Office said that Rule 5 of the Central Civil Services (Temporary Service) Rules state that "the probation period cannot be extended beyond double the normal period" and Vineeth's probation cannot be extended beyond four years, which he completed on May 6, 2016.
Vineeth joined the AG's Office in 2012 under the sports quota. However, he has been playing in the I-League for clubs Prayag United and Bengaluru FC. The forward was a joint Indian top scorer in the I-League 2016-17 as well as the Indian top scorer in the 2016 Indian Super League where he represented Kerala Blasters FC.
He is also among the probables for the Indian national football team preparing for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifier game against the Kyrgyz Republic, scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on June 13.