The penalties and punishment dealt on FC Goa by the ISL appears more of a vicious blow than anything else. No mention is made of the cause of the unrest – the biased refereeing, nor of the arrogance of one of the foreign players after that match. The highest form of punishment has been meted out to FC Goa, leaving the actual culprits free and unblemished!
Goans have always shown themselves to be sports loving and sporting. But we are also a just society. We detest biased referring. It is politics such as this, which seeks to kill the sport.
The match in question raised the ugly head of match-fixing. It appears as if the referees had a pre-planned agenda in a conspiracy of sorts. Cheating cannot go with sports. It is unfair and criminal, as well as travesty of justice because it deprives the better team of a hard earned victory.
In meting out such a harsh punishment to FC Goa, the intentions of the ISL organizers seems clear. They would not want to see the success of FC Goa anytime in the future. This is a clear move to seek to stifle the spirit of the club.
We ask that ISL review its decision and judgment. We demand that the fine of Rs 11 crore as well as the ban, be imposed on the referees of the match in question. The docking of 15 points against FC Goa should be revoked immediately so as to give them a free and fair chance to perform on an equal footing with other teams in the upcoming ISL tournament.
Natural justice must be served on the perpetrators of the crime, namely, all those who were the cause of the unrest. Failing which, it will become clear that the conspirators of the fiasco are in league with the office bearers of the ISL to defeat the cause of fair-play and justice.
Goans are known for their passion of good football. We welcome a match well contested – no matter who wins. But we would not tolerate politics in sports. Never!
If justice is not going to be served in this case, may I call upon all football lovers to vehemently protest against the injustice being shown to FC GOA, and further boycott the ISL tournament. ISL without Goa would be lifeless and dull. It is now upto the organizers of ISL to seriously rethink their strategy and resolve the matter in the true interests of justice.
