Mumbai/Panaji, Jan 5 (IANS) Churchill Brothers football club president Joaquim Alemao has threatened file a defamation suit against Spice Jet airlines after its 23-member team was offloaded at the Chhatrapati Shivaji airport in Mumbai, for alleged misbehaviour with an airhostess.

Alemao told IANS that skipper Odafe Onyeka Okolie, a Nigerian, accidentally touched an air hostess and apologised for the action. The team was travelling to Kolkata via Mumbai on a Spice Jet flight for their I-League match, due Thursday. The players were questioned at the Mumbai airport police station.

"The matter was sorted out between Odafe and the airhostess. But another male crew started shouting and forced the hostess to take up the matter seriously and then the airlines offloaded the whole team from the aircraft. This was ridiculous," Alemao said.

"Do they think there is a bedroom on the aeroplane? Why did they have to deboard everybody when the complaint was only against three persons? This is a clear case of harassment. I am going to file a defamation case against Spice Jet," Alemao added.

The club president said that the defending champions have lost valuable time ahead of their crucial I-League match.

"It is a crucial match. We have already wasted practice sessions because of this mess. It was not even molestation. How can they offload the whole team for the fault of just one member? And having known Odafe, I can tell you that he is not the kind of person to indulge in all such activities. He has set an example not only on the field but also off the field as well," he said.