KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan defender Sukhdev Singh , who was suspended for four months by the All India Football Federation in September, will be free to play the first Kolkata derby of this edition of the I-League against arch-rivals East Bengal on December 16 as his suspension period will now end of December 11.

His suspension period has not been reduced but, on an appeal by Sukhdev Singh, the players' status committee of the All India Football Federation has agreed to impose the ban from the day the meeting was held to decide the sanction and not the day of the receipt of the letter. The meeting was held on August 11 while the player received the letter in mid-September.

At the start of the season, Kolkata giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan had both claimed to have roped in Sukhdev Singh from Minerva Punjab FC and the Punjab club's director Ranjit Bajaj lodged a complaint with the All India Football Federation alleging that East Bengal had illegally tapped the player. The players' status committee found East Bengal to have not followed the right procedure in signing the player and Sukhdev Singh was also slapped with a four-month ban for breaching his contract with Minerva Punjab without just cause.

Sukhdev Singh has been training with the green and maroons' players since the start of the season but he is yet to play for the club. Mohun Bagan's next I-League encounter is against Chennai City FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on December 1 before they face the red and golds on December 16.

