Physical indeed
55' Broadcast or not, drama remains alive. Chennai City’s Roberto Eslava, fouled by the Gokulam winger, goes down and behaves like he’s been clotheslined.
I-League Goes Online After Broadcast Row; Chennai City Beat Gokulam Kerala - Highlights
After row between the All India Football Federation (AIFF), clubs and the broadcaster STAR Sports regarding broadcast on TV , I-League matches are now taken off air and being streamed online. Get highlights of the Chennai City FC vs Gokulam Kerala FC (CCFC vs GKFC) I-League match below.
Chennai City FC players celebrate the win vs Gokulam. Get highlights of the Chennai City FC vs Gokulam Kerala FC (CCFC vs GKFC) I-League match below (Pic: AIFF).
After five seasons of being undermined, by the newly-formed Indian Super League, India’s national league clubs finally decided they had enough. The last straw came the form of an innocuous email listing the remaining Hero I-League games that the rights holder, Star Sports, had decided to broadcast. As many as 30 games between Dec. 28 and the end of the season have been excluded from this broadcast schedule. (Get highlights of the Chennai City FC vs Gokulam Kerala FC (CCFC vs GKFC) I-League match below).
A wide cross-section of stakeholders responded to this news by criticising the All India Football Federation, its commercial partner FSDL (a joint venture between Reliance and Star India) and the broadcaster, Star Sports. The most powerful statement came from club owners operating in the framework of the I-League. Seven clubs, including reigning champions Minerva Punjab FC and past winners Aizawl FC, formed the I-League (Private) Clubs Association. The clubs represent footballing interests from regions where football is widely played and enjoys a mass fanbase as well. Real Kashmir, Shillong Lajong, Neroca, Chennai City FC and Gokulam Kerala are the other founding members of the association.
Minerva Punjab FC owner Ranjit Bajaj is, in consistence with his normally vocal stance on the state of the sport in India, one of the most vocal members of the association. Bajaj has unequivocally stated that the move to drop these 30 games is the latest in a concerted effort by the decision makers to destroy the I-League from within. “We all produce players and they want to kill the product,” a despairing Bajaj old the press. “We will die and cease to exist if we stop fighting.” The association called on the AIFF to resolve the issue by Jan. 5, 2018. Failing this they will approach civil courts in India and, potentially, FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (an independent institution based in Lausanne that aims to facilitate resolution of disputes in sport). In response, the AIFF has so far passed the buck on to the broadcast and commercial partners, saying it has only a limited say in these matters. The federation went on to say that clubs had been warned about this possibility if they failed to draw sizeable crowds for games and/or if the grounds “didn’t look good on TV”. The concession—that the dropped games will be streamed live on the internet through Reliance’s Jio TV and Star India’s Hotstar portals.
Today’s fixture between Chennai City and Gokulam is, as per Star’s listings update issued on Dec. 31, not listed for live telecast. So we thought it the best way to kick-off our brand new football live blogs while also acting as an impartial quality control mechanism. Stay with us for regular updates through the game including insider inputs on why this broadcast mess happened in the first place and what its implications are.
Live blog
Scuffle aplenty
55’ Another scuffle but no cards. Gokulam’s Daniel Addo is annoyed about something and lets it known. Manzi and the referee calm him down.
That '80s show
57’ As punishment, Addo is made to take the goal kick. How weird is it when a defender does that? A bit ‘80s.
Freekick
58’ Chennai have a freekick from 35 yards. Sandro lines it up and grazes the side net. In our office, we have gone up in excitement. Everyone is staring at us strangely now. Primarily, because, it wasn’t a goal.
Goal!!
60' League leaders Chennai City restore parity. Pedro Manzi bags his second with a looping header from inside the box after a delightful, perfectly timed chip via Néstor Gordillo. That takes Manzi’s tally to nine goals in the current campaign.
All square
The scores are tied 2-2 now in this exciting 'Palakkad derby'.
Another booking
67’ Now Manzi takes an elbow from Addo, and starts the complaining. The referee duly books the Ghanaian.
Hot derby
64’ The game has gone bonkers! Two all does that to a football match. Both teams are now attacking sans abandon. Sandro wins a freekick and floats one in, towards Romario, who plays it into the box. A desperate clearance by Gokulam and the ball falls teasingly to Sandro, who lashes one just wide! Chennai have their noses up after the equaliser. The derby is really on!!
Football not MMA, guys
69’ Commentator asks the expert, Renedy Singh, if the ref can go around sending players off “left, right and centre”. Well, if the players decide to go into MMA mode in the middle of a football game the ref doesn’t have much of an option, does he?
Freekick for Chennai
71’ Chennai have a freekick. 25 yards out. Sandro will line this up.
High freekick
72’ He tries an Aritz Aduriz, one step shot, with the free kick. It goes miles high and wide.
Greeting cards season
73’ Another card. This time, Musa goes in the book. 5 cards this game. Merry Christmas!
Expert analysis
74' Always a pleasure listening to experts such as Renedy Singh, Mehraj Wadoo, Ishfaq Ahmed on commentary. Renedy regularly brings up things like the players’ decision making, positioning and awareness. Great bits of learning for any young players tuning in to the game.
Chennai corner Kerala
75’ Chennai win their 10th (10th!!!!!) corner of the game. Eslava gets his head to it, but it goes wide.
GOAL!!
80’ GOAL 3-2. Chennai takes a lead after Manzi strikes, completes his hattrick.
Manzi hattrick
80’ Great opportunism from Pedro Manzi to get Chennai back in the lead, for the first time since the 7th minute. Nestor Gordillo takes a superb volley from outside the box but its parried away by Kunniyil (badly). Manzi pounces on the rebound and gets his hat trick. That’s three hattricks for the Spaniard this season.
Table dynamics
81’ If Chennai can keep this lead ( that is a capital IF, seeing how this game has gone), then they move three points clear at the top of the table.
Holding defense
85’ Chennai are now just holding the ball, and Gokulam are halfheartedly chasing them down. But halfheartedly. Renedy Singh, every observant points out that if you are pressign you have to press as a team. Else the three guys doing it end up looking a bit stupid.
I-League alive and kicking
88’ As the sun has gone down, the crowd has gently filled up the stadium. There are a few thousand in the stands now. Even on the broadcast, the drummers are clearly audible. Who says the I-League is a dead league?! Send them to Coimbatore. For punishment, send them to watch the Dynamos in the ISL in Delhi.
Box ping pong
90+2 We are into added time. Three minutes. A bit of ping pong in the Chennai City box, and the ball falls to Suhair outside the box on the volley. He hits it high and wide.
Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.
