East Bengal soccer coach Subhas Bhowmick on Friday got a virtual reprieve with the Indian Football Association (IFA) diluting his punishment of a suspended two year ban to six months.

The IFA, which slapped a two-year ban on Bhowmick in January for repeatedly 'insulting' the parent body through his 'derogatory' remarks, decided to tone down the punishment after the coach explained his conduct before the association's governing body a couple of months back.

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"During the next six months, Bhowmick's conduct will be observed and if he repeats such comments or shows disrespect to the association, then the two-year ban will come into force immediately," IFA secretary Subrata Dutta said in Kolkata.

The relaxation comes only a day before the ban was originally slated to come into force.

As per the earlier order, the IFA had refused to recognise the former international player as "part of any team, club or association for two years, and debarred him from entering the technical area and inside fencing and sitting at the substitutes" bench of any club or association during any match conducted by the IFA or held under its aegis.

"We decided to give Bhowmick a chance as he had presented himself before the IFA governing body and said that he held the parent body in high esteem. He also claimed that some of his comments were twisted by the media," Dutta said.

Bhowmick, who led East Bengal to the ASEAN Cup triumph last year apart from two back-to-back National League titles, had rubbed IFA the wrong way by describing its officials as "ignorant" and questioning its competence.