AHMEDABAD: With just hours left to go for the Super Cup in Bhubaneswar, confusion reigns over whether the participation of a number of teams in the tournament. The opening game of the qualifiers for the tournament is supposed to be held on Thursday with Minerva Punjab taking on FC Pune City. But with Minerva owner Ranjit Bajaj announcing that his team was pulling out of the tournament, it is not known whether this fixture is going ahead. “As of now, we are not playing tomorrow (Thursday),” Bajaj told this newspaper. “They have not responded to any of our demands.
All we have got is a message from Kushal Das saying that he has passed on the message to the president. But the team has been there for the last three days. If the AIFF confirms a meeting on Wednesday, there is a slight chance we will play.”
AIFF is yet to put out a statement confirming the fate of the match. “We have written a letter to them telling that AIFF president Praful Patel will meet them in due course,” said vice president Subrata Dutta.
After Bajaj’s revelation the day before, a few clubs on Wednesday forwarded a joint statement from seven I-League clubs — Chennai City FC, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, NEROCA FC, Aizawl FC, Minerva Punjab and Gokulam themselves — claiming that they were not playing the tournament and that their decision would not change unless their concerns were addressed.
“Our letter dated 18th February requesting the President of AIFF to address the various issues of the I-League has not been responded to,” the letter stated.But the letter also revealed that their decision could change once the AIFF agreed to address their concern. “ (...) whenever our concerns are addressed, we are ready to play and look forward to the growth of this beautiful game in our country.”
But after that, East Bengal appeared to break away from the group with a statement of their own. “We have come to know that some I-League teams (have) decided not to take part in the forthcoming Super League (sic) to be held in Bhubaneswar. We have the tradition and legacy to not step back from participating, keeping in view of the fact that discrepancies, if any, can be sorted out by discussions and deliberations,” the statement said.