Former captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Tuesday reacted to world governing body FIFA suspending All India Football Federation (AIFF) for “undue influence from third parties”. The 45-year-old called the decision “very harsh” but in it also saw an opportunity to get the country’s sport in order.

“Very unfortunate that FIFA has banned Indian football and at the same time I feel it’s a very harsh decision of FIFA to ban Indian football,” Bhutia said.

“But at the same time time I feel it’s a great opportunity for us to get our system right. It’s very important that all the stakeholders — the federation, the state associations, to come together and get the system right and everybody work for the betterment of Indian football,” the Sikkimese sniper added.

Also Read: FIFA suspends AIFF: What it means for Indian football

FIFA on Monday issued a statement saying it is suspending AIFF with effective immediately. This is the first time AIFF has been banned by FIFA in its 85 year history.

“The Bureau of the FIFA Council has unanimously decided to suspend the All India Football Federation (AIFF) with immediate effect due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes,” the FIFA said in a statement.

“The suspension will be lifted once an order to set up a committee of administrators to assume the powers of the AIFF Executive Committee has been repealed and the AIFF administration regains full control of the AIFF’s daily affairs.”

Also Read: Fans taken aback by FIFA’s decision to suspend All India Football Federation

The AIFF ran into trouble after former president Praful Patel stayed in office beyond his term with the Supreme Court ruling it invalid and ousting him from the post. The SC had placed the AIFF under a Committee of Administrators (CoA).

A team of FIFA-AFC had visited the country in June after which the world body had set strict deadlines to approve the new constitution by July 31 and hold elections by Sept 15.

FIFA’s move also jeopardized country’s prospects of hosting the Under-17 Women’s World Cup, which was scheduled from October 11-30.