AHMEDABAD: Seven I-League clubs have threatened to pull out of the upcoming Super Cup unless their demand to meet with AIFF president Praful Patel to discuss the proposed restructuring of the top tier of football is met.
The clubs in question are Chennai City FC, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Minerva Punjab, Aizawl FC, Gokulam Kerala and Churchill Brothers. While Minerva Punjab had reportedly confirmed a pull-out, sources close to Chennai City and Gokulam Kerala said that the decision wasn’t final and that they would pull out only if the AIFF did not agree to their demands. “If the AIFF calls a meeting before the qualifiers (for the Super Cup), then we will play. Otherwise, we will have to think about. We are on the verge of pulling out,” said a Gokulam Kerala official.
Newly-crowned I-League champions Chennai City too confirmed the development. “Seven clubs had written to the AIFF asking for a meeting to discuss our futures but they haven’t responded so far. If the AIFF continues to ignore us, then we will have to reconsider our participation in the Super Cup.”
The AIFF will now have to make a quick decision for the qualifiers of the Super Cup which is scheduled to start on Friday. Minerva Punjab was supposed to take on FC Pune City on Friday while Gokulam Kerala and Aizawl FC were scheduled to face Delhi Dynamos and Chennaiyin FC respectively on Saturday.
Investigation into title decider
In another curious development, sources close to the AIFF have revealed that an ‘internal investigation’ was being held into an incident that happened during the Chennai City-Minerva Punjab match on the final day of the season. Chennai City would go on to win the match 3-1 and lift the I-League title, pipping East Bengal by a solitary point.
The incident concerned Chennai City’s opener which their Spanish forward Pedro Manzi scored through a penalty. Match officials present at the game believe that before taking the kick, Manzi pointed to the direction in which he was going to score before calmly slotting to that side, even as Minerva keeper Nidhin Lal went the other way. While this is a trick commonly resorted to by both penalty-takers and goalkeepers, a section of the East Bengal fans have alleged foul play.
Chennai City said that they are yet to receive any sort of indication regarding this from either the AIFF or the match commissioner. Tournament officials have confirmed that the I-League trophy will be presented to Chennai City in Chennai on March 20.