Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters, the 2 groups in the centre of a storm after the Kochi aspect walked out halfway by way of their Indian Super League playoff match lately, discover themselves in the identical group in the Hero Super Cup which might be held in Kozhikode and Malappuram from April 8 to 25.
The draw of heaps for the Super Cup, which is able to see ISL and I-League golf equipment struggle one another, was held on Tuesday and Bengaluru, the Blasters, Roundglass Punjab FC together with the winner of qualifier-1 discover themselves in Group ‘A’, one of many 4 teams in the occasion.
“Unfortunately, that happened. And it (the draw of lots) was live and since it is a qualifying round for the AFC Cup, transparency had to be there,” P. Anilkumar, the secretary of the Kerala Football Association, informed The Hindu on Tuesday. “We have nothing more to say.”
But the Blasters’ presence in the Super Cup itself is in doubt at this stage because the AIFF is but to present its verdict on the group’s walkout.
“That is pending …at the moment, they are not suspended and that is why they have been included in the list. They will decide in a day or two and in case there is any disciplinary action, they will change the fixtures accordingly,” stated Anilkumar.
The AIFF disciplinary committee, which met on Monday, had rejected the protest lodged by Blasters after their walkout in Bengaluru on March 3.
In its protest, the Blasters had disputed a objective scored off a freekick by Bengaluru’s Sunil Chhetri and had sought reliefs on two counts, saying the match must be replayed and strict motion must be taken in opposition to the stated referee.
After going by way of the legal guidelines of the sport in addition to the experiences by the officers, the committee stated, “the protest is not maintainable in law, as the conjoint comprehensive and holistic reading of the league rules and the code clearly provides that no protest can be entertained against a referee’s decisions, since the said decisions are final and binding.”
No matches in Kochi
Coming again to the Super Cup, Kochi’s Nehru Stadium was additionally in the plans to host the occasion however has now been dropped.
“In Kochi, there is difficulty in getting spectators to fill up the stadium (Nehru Stadium capacity around 60,000) especially when the home team is not playing. The ISL had a good crowd since the Blasters were playing,” stated the KFA secretary.
But on the Payyanad Stdium in Manjeri (Malappuram), which is able to host the Super Cup together with Kozhikode’s EMS Corporation Stadium, the large crowd could possibly be a fear.
“In Manjeri, this will be the first football event of this kind happening. That is why were are anticipating a big crowd and some difficulty to manage when you compare with the Kochi stadium. The crowd capacity (in the Manjeri ground) is 20,000…Kochi can hold something like 60,000,” stated Anilkumar.
The groupings (league matches, April 8-19): Group A ( Kozhikode): Bengaluru FC, Kerala Blasters, Roundglass Punjab, Winner Qualifier-1.
Group B (Manjeri): Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC, East Bengal FC, Winner Qualifier-3.
Group C (Kozhikode): ATK Mohun Bagan, FC Goa, Jamshedpur FC, Winner Qualifier-2.
Group D (Manjeri): Mumbai City FC, Chennaiyin FC, NorthEast United FC, Winner Qualifier-4.
Semifinal 1 (Kozhikode, April 21), Semifinal 2 (Manjeri, April 22).
Final: Kozhikode (April 25).
Qualifying playoff matches (April 3-6 at Kozhikode).
