FC Goa defender Gregory Arnolin responds to racial abuse accusation by Baljit Sahni
FC Goa’s French defender Gregory Arnolin recently responded to the racial abuse accusation made by Atletico de Kolkata’s Baljit Sahni, during their previous encounter.
The French defender used Twitter to post his reactions. “After reading the serious accusations, which is shocking and false against me, I came here to say that soon I will tell my version of what really happened there on the pitch during the game against Kolkata.”
“I can’t allow anybody to denigrate my image that way and try to lie to the football nation in order to cover his own mistakes that everyone has seen….The images speak for itself.”
“To conclude, I want to share a thing that I learned, we can try to lie or deceive a human being but it is impossible to lie to God.”
“I can’t allow a situation like that to go unnoticed. My lawyers are already aware of it and we will go till the last consequences to repair all the damages caused.” He said.
Sahni was shown this season’s first red card for head butting Arnolin on Wednesday. A hefty fine of Rs 5 lakh followed the red card along with an additional suspension of two matches for the experienced striker, who hails from Punjab.
“Baljit Sahni, Jersey No.6, player of Atletico de Kolkata has been suspended for next two matches of Hero Indian Super League and fined Rs 500,000 (Rupees Five Lakh only) for breach of All India Football Federation Disciplinary Code (Article 58) of Offensive Behavior and Fair Play during Match 5 played between FC Goa Vs Atletico de Kolkata on 7th October 2015 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda Goa,” an ISL release stated.
In an interview to Bengali daily Ebela, the former JCT player had accused Arnolin of passing offensive comments involving his country, which provoked him to retaliate. He accused Arnolin of calling him ‘a f****** India’. In a fit of rage, Sahni ended up head-butting his counterpart and was shown a straight red card as a result.