Following Kerala Blasters’ withdrawal from their Indian Super League match against Bengaluru FC, the All India Football Federation’s disciplinary committee has started its probe into potential sanctions for the Kochi-based team. The Kerala Blasters’ request for a match replay and harsh punishment against the referee of the ISL play-off game played in Bengaluru on Friday was denied by the AIFF disciplinary panel on Monday.
Kerala Blasters woes are not over yet as the AIFF DC will decide whether they will be sanctioned for walking out of the match after a contentious Sunil Chhetri strike. “The AIFF DC has initiated the process whether to impose sanctions on KBFC. A decision is likely in 10 days,” a top source told.
Under Article 58 of the AIFF Disciplinary Code (of 2021), dealing with “abandonment” of matches, Kerala Blasters could cough up Rs 6 lakh fine and even may attract disqualification from a competition in progress and/or exclusion from a future competition.
After a goalless stalemate in regulation time at the Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru FC took a 97th-minute lead when the talismanic Chhetri converted a free-kick. But the strike from the India captain led to a full-blown drama as the Adrian Luna-led side protested the referee’s decision to declare it a legitimate goal, with counter-claims that he did not blow the whistle before Chhetri took the kick and the players were not ready.
This followed an unprecedented walk-out, a first in ISL where Serbian coach Ivan Vukomanovic called back his players. Kerala Blasters forfeited the match. AIFF issued a statement that the AIFF Disciplinary Committee, which met on Monday under chairperson Vaibhav Gaggar, has rejected the protest lodged by Kerala Blasters.
After going through the Laws of the Game as well as the reports by the officials, the committee ruled that “the protest is not maintainable in law, as the conjoint comprehensive and holistic reading of the League Rules and the (AIFF Disciplinary) code clearly provides that no protest can be entertained against a referee’s decisions, since the said decisions are final and binding.