KOCHI
The Kerala Blasters and their head coach Ivan Vukomanovic have expressed regret for their walkout during the ISL playoff match against Bengaluru FC in Bengaluru on March 3.
“It has been a couple of weeks since we were all caught by negative circumstances that happened on March 3. It is certainly devastating to all football fans to witness such a thing… no one deserves nor wants to be an actor of such an event,” said a statement from Vukomanovic which came late on Sunday.
‘Regret for being part of such a moment’
“These things are not supposed to be seen in sport arenas around the world and I regret being part of such a moment.”
The Blasters’ statement said the walkout, which saw the AIFF’s Disciplinary Committee punish the club with a Rs 4 crore fine a couple of days ago and demand a public apology, was taken in the heat of the moment.
“We would like to express our sincerest regrets for the event that took place during the match. We recognise that our decision to walk off the pitch prematurely was unfortunate and taken in the heat of the moment,” said the Blasters. “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.”
The Disciplinary Committee had threatened to increase the Blasters’ fine to Rs 6 crore and Vukomanovic’s penalty to Rs 10 lakh (from Rs 5 lakh earlier which came along with a 10-match suspension) if the public apology did not come about in a week’s time.
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