Chennaiyin captain Elano arrested; Goa CM condemns brawl
Right after defeating FC Goa 3-2 to lift their ISL crown, Chennaiyin FC’s victory celebrations were spoiled by an unpleasant act involving captain Elano Blumer. The winning captain is alleged to have abused and assaulted FC Goa’s co-owner, industrialist Dattaraj Salgaonkar, after the match.
"After the game when I went back to our dug-out, I saw Elano and went to greet him. I told him that I quite like the way he plays. He caught me by the neck and assaulted me with his elbow. I almost fell down. All players were upset and I (later) filed an FIR. He also abused me," Dattaraj told ToI.
An FIR was registered against the Brazilian star for the incident, which is alleged to have taken place near the tunnel and dug-out area before the trophy presentation. Elano has been slapped with charges of wrongful restraint under Section 341 of IPC.
Margao police arrived at the scene right after the FIR was logged and waited for three hours outside the Chennaiyin FC dressing room to take the Brazilian to the police station. (Read: Never-say-die Chennai come back to lift ISL crown in nail-biting final)
Last night Elano was arrested for assaulting FC Goa owner. @ChennaiyinFC @FCGoaOfficial #ISL #StarSports #Elano pic.twitter.com/ETKJOr3CuB
— kalyanchaubey (@kalyanchaubey) December 21, 2015According to media reports, the midfielder was questioned for two hours before he was eventually released after a judge set bail.
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, who was present during the match, left much before the prize distribution ceremony after watching the unsavoury incident.
“I left the stadium when, apart from poor refereeing, I noticed the Chennaiyin FC captain insulting, abusing and assaulting Mr. Salgaonkar.
“I did not find it worthwhile to even wait for the prize distribution function. I was invited for the match by Mr. Salgaonkar,” the Chief Minister told The Hindu.
FC Goa players also boycotted the post-match ceremony protesting against the “terrible refereeing and assault on Dattaraj Salgaonkar", as per ToI.
"The boycott was a protest against the refereeing and assault on me by Elano," said Dattaraj.
"There were two penalties given and last five minutes everything changed. Every time we say something it is never taken seriously. It was terrible refereeing, one-sided and (if) it was decided to give Chennai the game, there was no point in Goa playing. It was for that we boycotted. It was all decided that Chennai should win this game and the referee took all action to support that decision. Everybody on television or otherwise can see that," Dattaraj told TOI. (Read: Incredible ISL stats you probably did not know about)