Kerala Blasters temporarily shut down women's football team after men's team fined for ISL walkout

In a setback for womens sports in the country Kerala Blasters on Tuesday temporarily shut down their womens team owing to financial crunches arising out of sanctions imposed on the club after the mens side walked out of an Indian Super League playoff fixture last seasonThe All India Football Federation AIFF had imposed a fine of Rs 4 crore on the Blasters after the mens team walked out of the match against Bengaluru FC on March 3 protesting against a contentious Sunil Chhetri goal from a free kickReferee Crystal John did not blow the whistle before Chhetri took the kick and the Blasters players had claimed that the goal should not have been allowed as they were not ready The Blasters forfeited the match after they walked out of the pitch in protestChhetri had said he had told the referee that he did not want neither the wall 10 yards from the ball nor the whistle thereby implying that he has every right to take a quick freekick under the rulesIt is with a heavy heart that we must announce the temporary pause of our womens team This decision has been necessitated by the recent financial sanctions imposed on our club by the football federation Kerala Blasters said on Tuesday in a statementA couple of days back the AIFF rejected the clubs appeal against the fine The federation also rejected Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanovics appeal against the fine of Rs 5 lakh and a 10game ban imposed on himAfter a very encouraging first season that saw our womens team achieve tremendous results this year the club had plans for increased investments for our womens team the statement readIndian womens team goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan and captain Ashalata Devi questioned the decision to punish the women footballers for their male counterparts actionsSo the mens team gets a fine for what they did and the money comes from the womens team budget by shutting it down Great thats how womens football will develop in india Horrible Chauhan tweeted to which Ashalata replied HorribleThe club said it had planned a foreign preseason tour in which the womens side would have accompanied the mens team but at this time it must prioritize the more immediate objectives and longterm financial stabilityThese investments included a firstofakind foreign preseason tour accompanying our mens team player exchanges exposure tours and so much more However the financial sanctions have presented us with an unfortunate challengeThe club said its still awaiting further sanctions from the league body as well that are only likely to augment the financial impact on the clubwe cannot continue our womens team activities until such time that there is complete clarity on the matter The decision to pause their activities was made after careful consideration and evaluation of the current circumstancesThe Blasters asserted that the suspension of operations was only temporary and they will reinstate the team once they tide over the financial crunchIt is important to highlight that this pause is temporary We will reinstate our womens team upon closure of this matter in its entiretyAlso Read Transfer window for new football season to begin on June 9 announces All India Football FederationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever