The so-called wise men who together decided to kill the spirit of football loving Goans and eradicate our smiles like Israeli rockets pounding Palestine, have probably never kicked a football in their lives in a competitive environment, or followed a club with a passion of a Victorian lover.
Let’s name the members the ISL regulatory commission. Retired High Court Justices DA Mehta and BN Mehta, former Mumbai DGP D Sivanandan, ex-India cricketer Kiran More and sports law expert Vidhushpat Singhania. Barring More, none of them are remotely connected to the sport of any nature at a level of the ISL. But even if this can be condoned, there is no evidence on record to suggest a detailed ground level investigation of the sequence of events by recording statements of several witnesses on the ground who saw the events unfolding from close quarters like the coaching staff and the team of officials along with camera persons in the stadium.
It was almost as if the entire script was well written. First the AIFF would meet and hand out a Rs 50 lakh fine and then the ISL would take over and slap the mother of all fines – Rs 11 crores, ban two of the prominent owners and literally wipe out season 2016 for FC Goa by docking 15 points even before a single game has been played. There was no pretence of even a fair trial or an attempt to understand FC Goa’s point of view. FC Goa is well within their rights to ask on what basis was a final conclusion reached that Elano Blumer did not charge at and attempt an assault on the FC Goa owners. The video strategically released to apparently conclude that Elano did not commit or attempt to commit any assault.
There are two sides to the story and FC Goa’s side needs serious attention. Read Coach ZIco’s words, “We were there — Coaches Moraci Santana and Bruno Silva saw Elano assaulting Mr (Dattaraj) Raj Salgaocar in our dugout. That video is clearly cooked! Anyone with sense can see there is a cut before the assault on the owner, and surely all the reaction that came from our team members was not without motive”.
The men who decided to hurt FC Goa and its fans need to know that Zico, apart from being FC Goa’s coach has been one of the finest ambassadors for the beautiful game. His loyalty to FC Goa wouldn’t come in the way of speaking the truth and when he, as a witness, confirms the assault, it has far more weight than an ISL regulatory commission.
Sadly, the harsh judgment against FC Goa doesn’t seem to be based on facts but ego. The ISL hasn’t quite accepted that FC Goa stood upto them against what are unjust acts of retribution. FC Goa was more than willing to abide by the punishment ordered by the AIFF, duly recognising its authority over Indian football, even over the ISL. All India Football Federation (AIFF), in an earlier disciplinary committee hearing, had made it clear that “AIFF disciplinary committee has exclusive jurisdiction over all matters related to discipline under AIFF disciplinary code, including those relating to Indian Super League.” Therefore if FC Goa chose to boycott the April 11 hearing of the ISL regulatory commission, it was the right decision. Why aren’t the AIFF and the ISL realising this?
The ISL has used a machine gun to kill a fly. A 15 point docking and Rs 11 crore fine is a sledgehammer of a punishment. This sordid incident also indicates that the ISL is controlled by a powerful corporate. Rs 10 crores of FC Goa’s fine will go to Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL), the corporate entity that oversees Reliance Industries Ltd ‘s (RIL) interests in the field of football. Need one say more?
But Goa will not take this lying down. We need 36 points out of 42 and even if we get Messi and Ronaldo as strikers, this is a no brainer of a task. Kicking a team out of the competition and getting them to pay Rs 11 crores can never be a decision of a football loving body. FC Goa is more than a football team. It’s Goa’s most potent unity band.
Finally, If the Goa Chief Minister and several Ministers had a blast enjoying VVIP hospitality during last year’s matches, it is time for them to speak up and act for Goa’s prestige and honour, if not for its football.
