Indian Football Round-up: 5 Biggest Controversies of 2018 

Another year has its curtains almost down and football in India has changed as usual. From the first Super Cup with I-League and ISL clubs, to both the leagues becoming more professional, changes are vast and is debatable on whether these changes are beneficial to the development of the game in the country.

Yes, there are a lot of memories for the lovers of the sport, including a few which became controversies. Looking back, the spectators find a few decisions by the clubs and players could be avoided so that the fame of Indian football wouldn't have been degraded. The associations too have been blamed on numerous occasions, for its unjust policies, which the fans didn't spare.

Here, we take a look at 5 biggest controversies that struck Indian football in 2018.

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#5 I-League Telecast Issue

No, ISL is not India's top league, but the I-League is. This remains a fact on paper and maybe among the fans, but never to the federation and the commercial profit-makers of Indian football.

All India Football Federation's disinterest to I-League has been evident from the very first season of Indian Super League (ISL). This just got assured when Star Network, the official broadcasters of ISL and I-League decided to cut off the number of matches telecasted of the latter league.

It was a big blow to the I-League fans when the announcement was made that out of the remaining 60 matches this season, only 30 would be aired through the channels. The lack of interest from the authorities is evident to the comparatively poorer league.

The quality of I-League matches telecasted was below par and Minerva Punjab took to Twitter to address its dissent towards this practice from Star Sports. The same network that telecasted High Definition visuals of other sports leagues in the country including ISL, showed no interest in the case of I-League.

At this stage of Indian football, when ISL match attendances are dropping with every day passing by, it is inevitable to support the older league and link the two in any way. I-League having steady and impressive ground figures are not supported, while ISL still remains pumped with funds.

The discrimination between the leagues has been a major issue that has been talked about this year and it requires a solution with apt change of decisions from AIFF.

#4 Sunil Chhetri asking for AFC Cup slot for ISL Table Toppers

The current champions Chennaiyin FC haven't shone brightly this season, despite walking in as the champions. The champion crown earned them an AFC Cup slot, which cannot be a fair position if they hold at their current form. Bengaluru FC were the table toppers last season losing out to Chennaiyin at the final. Can a team who has a better day be awarded the AFC Cup slot? Is AIFF considering the Asian stage lightly?

Chennaiyin FC playing the AFC Cup at their present form might be a poor display at the international level. On the other hand, Bengaluru FC has retained the table toppers position this season, never going back an inch. If BFC could represent India at this stage, a tougher challenge could have been expected.

Thus, its fair for the Bengaluru FC skipper Sunil Chhetri to demand the AFC Cup slot for the table toppers.

It is an issue that needs to be resolved from the table meetings, not team meetings. Even after the development of ISL, AIFF hasn't had a professional approach in certain areas - one being this.

Chhetri's request was discussed and debated by many this year and is yet to have an answer.

#3 Six5Six Kits being Delayed

Until a couple of weeks before, the Indian football team could boast of their kits sponsored by giants - Nike. But this could only be limited to words as the brand had no interest or intention of actually sponsoring the team kits.

Unconfirmed reports even say, players had to reuse their jerseys for multiple matches. The public also had no option to purchase the kits of their favourite Blues.

However, everyone expected a change when a new sponsor was announced on December 19 - Indian company Six5Six on a 5-year agreement. The company didn't disappoint as the merchandises were open for purchase by the public, from the very next day.

But recent reports indicate that India's trouble with kits are not over as Six5Six has failed to provide the team with jerseys and training kits ahead of the friendly with Oman. This has forced the team to train with the old practice kits sponsored by Nike, which has kept the sessions out of sight from public.

There are no confirmations of the kits being received so far and the players might have to wait till the final hours before the friendly to get their new colours.

Coming to a close of the year, AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) has created yet another controversy with poor management of the routine activities.

#2 Jordan Flight Delay

There hasn't been any shortage of distractions off the field for the national players this year. Another similar instance was the 'Jordan flight delay' issue. Though a case of natural disaster and nothing to do with the officials, the team faced difficulties reaching Jordan to play a friendly with the country at Amman's King Abdullah II Stadium on November 17.

The team left India with enough time for freshening after travel and training sessions. However, heavy floods at Kuwait and Jordan found the two batch of players stranded at Kuwait and Doha Airports. While the fifteen players along with the coach at Doha airport left for Jordan and reached 24 hours before the game, struggles continued for the seven players and officials at Kuwait. But the same group caught trouble again after losing their pieces of baggage after reaching Amman.

After a day and a half of waiting, the seven players took a flight to Jordan and reached less than four hours before kickoff. The match amidst numerous uncertainties and rumours continued and was played out as scheduled.

Out of the players who arrived late - Jeje Lalpekhlua, Balwant Singh, Manvir Singh, Sumeet Passi, Udanta Singh, Halicharan Narzary, Ashique Kuruniyan, only two featured in the match as substitutes. Ashique Kuruniyan and Sumeet Passi found playing time in the second half as most other didn't even make the bench.

This obstacle in transit surely made a negative impact on the team's performance as the team went down 2-1. A far better outing would have been possible if factors were in favour of the Blue Tigers.

This becomes another highly talked instance of Indian football recently.

#1 Gourav Mukhi age-fraud

Gourav Mukhi is a name that was talked about a lot this season, for the positives at first and then for the bitter reasons.

Jamshedpur FC was facing Bengaluru FC and the 71st minute saw a change being made - Gourav Mukhi of JFC making his ISL debut and becoming the youngest player to appear in the league - just 16 years old. A few minutes later, the 'youngster' did well to get past the Bengaluru FC defence and take the title of the youngest ISL goal scorer.

But things soon changed upside down when few three-year old reports came back into the limelight. It was the Sub Junior National Football Championship, 2015 when Jharkhand won the final thrashing Goa 8-3. The crown didn't last long as an enquiry made by AIFF found that 5 players in the team were overage and had submitted false age certificates. Jharkhand was disqualified, fined and coach suspended for the mischief. One player among the five was Gourav Mukhi.

The championship was held for players below the age of 15 and Mukhi overaged this criterion in 2015. Therefore, it is a basic calculation that reveals, the player is older than his claimed 16.

The striker grabbing too much attention, brought this past into the notice of the authorities who declared an investigation into the subject. Finally, AIFF found that the player had submitted false certificates again and was punished. He was handed a six-month suspension from the game and the Central Registration System (CRS) and Competition Management System (CMS) registrations were cancelled and revoked.

In a league like ISL with no age bars, a player submitting false age proof is a serious concern. The clubs should resort to never support any such inappropriate practices from the part of players. By the misconduct, Gourav Mukhi caught international headlines as age fraud in Indian football. Mukhi has therefore been the biggest controversy of Indian football in 2018.