Kerala Blasters offer apology, only regret from coach Ivan Vukomanovic | Football News – Times of India

KOCHI: Kerala Blasters on Sunday issued a public apology for their walkout in the ISL playoff match against Bengaluru FC last month. However, team head coach Ivan Vukomanovic hasn’t mentioned anything about his decision to lead his team off the pitch in his carefully worded statement but has expressed regret over the ‘negative circumstances’ that happened during the game.
Two days back, Blasters were fined Rs 4 crore by AIFF disciplinary committee and were also asked to issue a “public apology for its unsporting conduct” of abandoning the match. Vukomanovic was also handed a 10-match suspension and a fine of Rs 5 lakh. The AIFF had also directed him to issue a public apology for his ‘miscondcut’, failing which the fine would be increased to Rs 10 lakh.
In the ISL playoff match held at Bengaluru, Sunil Chhetri’s quickly taken free kick gave Bengaluru the lead in the first half of extra time but that controversial goal triggered furious protests from the Blasters camp. Vukomanovic then led his players off the field, and despite requests from officials, refused to return to the field.
The match was eventually abandoned by referee Crystal John, who has since then been heavily criticised by the fans for his handling of the game.
“We would like to express our sincerest regrets for the events that took place during our knockout match against Bengaluru FC,” said Blasters in a statement on Sunday. “We recognise that our decision to walk off the pitch prematurely was unfortunate and taken in the heat of the moment. We would like to reiterate our respect for the larger football fraternity and assure everyone that we will take necessary measures to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future,” added the statement.

Vukomanovic in his statement has expressed his sincere thanks to the owners, management, players and fans for the support offered to him. But he has attributed the entire controversy as “negative circumstances that happened on March 3 this year during our last game.”
“It is certainly devastating to all football fans to witness and see such a thing. These things are not supposed to see in sporting arenas around the world and I regret being part of such a moment,” said Vukomanovic in a statement. “As a man of sport and football, I was always promoting correct conduct and Fairplay. These are without a doubt, some of the most important values of the football game, and most of all parts of sports education,” added Vukomanovic.
It would be interesting to see whether the AIFF disciplinary panel will be satisfied by the public statement issued by Blasters and their head coach expressing regret.

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