AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers: Afghan fans assaulted during India-Afghanistan clash at Salt Lake Stadium-Sports News , Firstpost

Photos of unidentified Afghanistan fans (far left), who were assaulted during the India vs Afghanistan AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers 2023 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday. Facebook

A group of Afghanistan fans were allegedly assaulted during the visiting team’s 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers third-round Group D match against hosts India at Yuba Bharati Krirangan, popularly known as Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata on Saturday.

The match, which saw the hosts clinch a 2-1 win in dramatic fashion in injury time, itself turned out to be a heated encounter between the two neighbouring nations as the two sides broke into a fight after the final whistle with goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu being punched by an Afghan player upon altercation.

The incident of alleged Afghan fans’ assault happened in the Block D2 of the iconic stadium right after the visitors scored an equalising goal in the 88th minute through Zubayr Amiri. The group of six-seven unidentified Afghans, who were bantering with the Indian crowds in the stands throughout the game, broke into celebration and made an alleged inappropriate gesture towards the home supporters, leading to an assault, recounts a fan present in the stands.

“One of the Afghan fans made an inappropriate gesture while celebrating the goal that didn’t sit well with the Indian fans and one of the fans soon came rushing towards the Afghan and slapped him,” Sagnik Saha, a graphic designer by profession, told Firstpost after the match. “Soon there was a commotion as some of the agitated fans wanted to beat them up while some of the fans tried to calm down the situation.”

Before things could escalate any further, a police officer arrived at the scene and took away the group of Afghan fans. The incident still raised concerns over the lack of away fans’ stand at the venue as things could have turned uglier on the night with close to 45,000 fans attending the match. The home crowd was also heard purportedly chanting ‘Taliban Murdabad’ during the match.

“The Afghan fans got lucky that some of the Indian fans came to their protection as only a police constable couldn’t have saved them from getting lynched,” said another fan Subhranjoy Datta, who was also present at the same stand. “What happened was unfortunate and that’s why many fans came to their protection but such incidents are normal in Kolkata stadiums if home and away fans are seated together.”

While the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the host association for the Group D qualifiers, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) was in charge of the stadium during the game. Firstpost has contacted AIFF for a comment on the matter but a response is still awaited.

Prior to the event, tickets were made complimentary for all the six matches as AIFF expected a low attendance of 5,000-10,000 fans. India (6 points in two games) will play their last match of the group on Tuesday (14 June) at 8:30 PM against group toppers Hong Kong (leading on goal difference) while Afghanistan (4 points) will face lowly Cambodia (0) in an early kick-off on the same day.

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