FIFA U17 World Cup: Police complaint lodged against FIFA officials for shifting semifinal from Guwahati
The action-packed FIFA U17 World Cup is already reaching its close with the final on 28th October. The first semi-final was held on 25th October in Kolkata, which came as a wave of good news for the City of Joy's football fanatics as the earlier venue for the semi-final clash was Guwahati. However, all did not go down well with Guwahati, whereby, an organisation has issued a police complaint against FIFA officials for having changed the venue of the mega event.
According to a Goal India report, a police complaint was lodged against the officials of FIFA by the Tai Ahom Yuva Chatra Parishad, Assam (TAYCPA), on the grounds of having misled the locals of Guwahati who looked forward to the big event being held in their hometown. The semi-final between Brazil and England was shifted to Kolkata citing poor playing conditions of the field at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.
The weather conditions in Guwahati had not been favourable of late, with Assam's capital city experiencing incessant rainfall for the past few days. As a result of this, prior to the 25th October clash, FIFA made an announcement that the field was not in a good condition to be played on and would also pose a threat to the health of the players. The venue, therefore, was shifted to Kolkata's Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium.
It is said that the poor playing conditions of the Guwahati stadium came to light after the quarter-final match between Mali and Ghana on Saturday, where FIFA officials were at the receiving end of the Ghana coach's fury for deciding to continue the match amidst heavy downpour and on a soggy field.
The Guwahati organisation, however, refuted these claims and said that the weather conditions had improved by Monday and felt that the semi-finals could have been held without any hassles. Claiming that the FIFA officials had left the people of Guwahati feeling insulted and let down, they hope that their police complaint will help in taking action against the accused ones.