Blasters walk off to give Bengaluru semi-final ticket

Kerala Blasters walked off the pitch in the 97th minute leading to the first play-off of the Indian Super League (ISL) being abandoned after Sunil Chhetri struck the match’s only goal with a quick free-kick. In a never-before incident in nine ISL seasons, referee Crystal John blew the final whistle after waiting till the end of what would have been 30 minutes of extra-time.

By then, it was nearly 20 minutes that Kerala Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanovic had taken players off the pitch. It was the first major controversy in ISL since December 2015 when Chennaiyin FC’s Elano was hauled away to the police station after they had beaten FC Goa in the final in Margao. That led to Srinivas Dempo and Shivanand Salgaocar moving away and FC Goa getting new owners. It was the first major game abandoned in domestic club football since Mohun Bagan and East Bengal’s I-League tie in December 2012.

Also Read | History beckons for Meghalaya and Karnataka

Match commissioner Amit Dharap was seen around the 120th minute mark speaking to John after which he blew the final whistle. This was the ninth straight game Bengaluru FC won in 2023, one where they had the better chances, especially in the first half, but Kerala Blasters had finished regulation time as the stronger team

“This is not the way you want to win a game,” Bengaluru FC coach Simon Grayson told the official broadcasters. “In 40 years of being involved in football, I have never seen a team walk off. I am feeling a little deflated,” he said. “I don’t know what happened but I was telling Ivan to continue.”

Bengaluru will meet league shield winners Mumbai City FC in the double-leg semi-finals. ATK Mohun Bagan host Odisha FC in the other play-off tie on Saturday.

A 72nd minute substitute for Sivasakthi Narayanan, Chhetri lobbed a free-kick with Kerala Blasters goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill directing the ‘wall’. John was close to Chhetri and had moved away before the shot. Kerala Blasters’ attacker Adrian Luna too was close to make a block but he too had moved away and had his back turned when Chettri pulled the trigger.

“I always ask the referee, ‘can I take it and if he says, “yes”, I do because, you know, if you have a chance, you have a chance,” said Chhetri.

Free kicks quickly taken are common in football but on Friday, play was paused long enough for Kerala Blasters to think John would use the foam to demarcate where they could line up. Luna moving away too indicated that but going by Chhetri’s version, he kept his head while Vukomanovic lost his. Tough sanctions could follow.

When Mohun Bagan were allowed to play in 2012, all point aggregated were wiped off and they were fined ₹2 crore.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.