ISL mum, Kerala Blasters return home to warm welcome

Sanctions against Kerala Blasters, which could include suspension, are supposed to come into effect immediately but the Indian Super League (ISL) is yet to make it official. For forfeiting Friday’s play-off at Bengaluru FC, Blasters are also likely to be punished by the disciplinary committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Referee Crystal John’s report and that of match commissioner Amit Dharap will be considered by AIFF before deciding on the punishment.

The League Rulebook is a 94-page document, a copy of which is with HT. The rulebook states that if a club “refuses to continue to play or leaves the Field of Play (sic)/Stadium before the end of the match”, it shall be deemed to have lost the game 3-0 (unless the margin is higher when it refused to continue); compensate the opponents and the league and “be liable for an additional financial sanction, deduction of points and/or suspension by the league…depending on the gravity of the incident.”

The sanctions shall “come into effect immediately” but the club can appeal to the ISL Appeal Commission. The decision of the commission is final, as per the rules.

The ISL website, in its report on Friday’s game, mentioned Blasters forfeiting the match in “disagreement” with John’s decision to let Sunil Chhetri’s goal, from a quickly taken free kick in the 97th minute, stand but said nothing about the consequences. “It is important that they do because with the competition continuing, what if another team does the same,” asked an official of an ISL club on Saturday. The official did not want to be named given the sensitive nature of the issue.

To the chants of “Ivan, Ivan,” and “we are with you”, Kerala Blasters, the team with the biggest fan base in ISL, were received at the Kochi airport on Saturday. Videos on Twitter showed coach Ivan Vukomanovic, who had called the players off the pitch, being given yellow roses and embraced by fans wearing team shirts. A fan club, Kerala Blasters Army, has written to FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation protesting against the goal.

The decision to walk off though did not find support among former ISL players, including striker Iain Hume, who is still popular in Kerala.

According to a Kerala Blasters official, Vukomanovic sent clips of the incident to two referees in Europe. “One of them, who has officiated in the Champions League, said the goal should have been disallowed,” said the official. “The other said, when the referee has shown the intent of managing the set-piece by using foam to show where the ball should be placed, he should have let the wall be formed 10 yards away and whistled to resume.” The Kerala Blasters official did not want to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The Blasters official also said John had asked their player Adrian Luna to step back. Luna was blocking Chhetri’s path before he lobbed into goal.

John’s handling of the free kick was also questioned by an ISL referee. “Going by convention and, given that it is in a position from where there is a good chance of scoring, John should have marked the position of the wall and allowed the kick only on the whistle,” said the referee. The referee did not want to be named as match officials are not allowed to speak in public.

According to ISL’s website, at 11 games, John has been the most used in ISL9 in the panel of 15 referees.

Their ISL campaign over, Kerala Blasters will take a break from Sunday and return to training in the last week of March for the Super Cup that will be hosted in Kerala next month.

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