PANJIM: Following Sunday’s loss to Chennaiyin FC in the finals of the second season of the Indian Super League, FC Goa were left enraged at the actions of marquee player, Elano who allegedly assaulted FC Goa co-owner, Dattaraj Salgaocar. This didn’t go down well with the management of the team who decided to stay absent from the award ceremony and the post match press conference.
With questions lingering over what actually transpired on the field which left a lot of fans and others baffled, FC Goa called a press conference to address the media and clear the air. According to Salgaocar, the ISL security caused issues with the owners getting on to the ground while owners of the rival team were allowed free passage. Following that, Elano came to the Goa dugout which he alleged, is not allowed. “I admire his game and since he came, I went to congratulate him. But he then proceeded to shove me and utter expletives asking me who I was and then threw an elbow into my abdomen. Had he apologised, I would’ve let it be,” Salgaocar explained. He went on to add that with Zico’s help, a bigger melee was prevented. “This went against our pride and hence I was forced to file a complaint,” he said.
Salgaocar also aimed some shots at the opposition camp and commented on the referee saying, “We believe we played sportingly. The refereeing was very poor. The match was aggressive. Materazzi seemed to be okay with allowing his players to do what they wanted and the ref didn’t bother. It wasn’t a fair performance by the ref,” he asserted.
Head coach Zico also echoed the statement of the owners. “The referee lacked sensitivity. This ref has officiated in all the important games this season and has managed to make wrong calls all the time. I don’t know why these refs have so much power. I don’t understand the thinking of these Japanese officials. Against Delhi, we committed 6 fouls and suffered 20 but the ref did nothing about it. So many fouls, no red cards. There was too much talking and not enough action,” the Brazilian explained.
The head coach was also critical about the fact that Joffre was a targeted man. “One of their players elbowed Joffre but nothing. One of their staff was seen hugging the referee. According to the rules, none is allowed to touch the ref. Unacceptable!” he exclaimed.
He then questioned the need to play football in such circumstances. “The opposition clearly wasn’t playing good football. Am I right to ask my team to abide by the rules of the sport? My hope is that corruption doesn’t creep into the ISL,” he noted.
