LAHORE, March 9: The Punjab Football Association (PFA) has charged election convenor with favouritism and vowed to hold polls in Lahore again, while Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) warned it could take legal action against the provincial body.

PFA is at loggerheads with PFF after results of Lahore District Football Association (LDFA) elections held earlier this year were declared null and void by PFA Appeal Board. The board had ruled that election convener in Punjab Nayyar Husnain, a close relative of PFF president Faisal Saleh, had been involved in illegal, unconstitutional activities and favouritism.

“The PFA will announce new LDFA election dates after chairman PFA Appeal Board Salahuddin Dogar declared them null and void. Salahuddin had approved the appeal against the elections ruling them as fraud. The appeal was put forward by a group which submitted evidence of illegal and unconstitutional activities during the elections and held the election convener (Nayyar Husnain) responsible for it.

“The convener violated all rules and directives of the PFF by not collecting the team records from LDFA. He also showed favouritism by allowing fake votes to be polled. Salahuddin also called the two groups to present their cases and the decision was taken on merit and new elections of LDFA will be held in accordance with the constitution of the PFA,” a PFA press release said on Sunday.

PFF secretary Ahmad Yar Lodhi told Dawn the federation would not accept the decision as well as the results of any fresh elections.

“The PFF had appointed Nayyar as election convener for Punjab to conduct the elections in all the 35 districts. We have already accepted the results of the Lahore district so how we can change it. The PFF will not accept elections for the Lahore body as it is against our constitution,” the secretary said.

He said the PFF could take legal action against the PFA for holding the elections.

The PFF held the elections in all districts of the four provinces last year before holding its own elections in September. But the elections triggered controversy as Faisal appointed handpicked election conveners in all four provinces.

Nayyar held elections in Punjab except Lahore, Faisalabad and Jhang because of incomplete electoral lists. He conducted the elections in Lahore on Jan 3, 2008, against which some clubs raised a protest and PFA constituted an Appeal Board.