ISL 2017: Delhi Dynamos director Rohan Sharma alleges politics in allocation of JLN Stadium for Salman Khan event
What's the story?
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi, which is the home ground of ISL side Delhi Dynamos, was recently used by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan to host a mega-event on Sunday as part of his DA-BANGG Tour.
However, there was a major controversy when images came out on social media, showing the damage to the playing surface.
Rohan Sharma, the director of the Delhi Dynamos, slammed the Sports Authority of India and Salman Khan for the damage caused to the ground. He said he was against the use of the ground for the event and despite the league's intervention, the stadium was allotted for the Bollywood evebt. He also alleged politics inside the SAI in the allocation of the stadium to the event organizers.
In case you didn't know
After the U-17 World Cup, the stadium was handed over to the Delhi Dynamos for the ISL campaign for the fourth year in a row.
The stadium had undergone a massive redevelopment for the FIFA U-17 World Cup recently but in spite of the recent refurbishment, the decision was taken to hand over the stadium by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for the Bollywood promotional event.
The heart of the matter
The event, which featured Salman Khan, caused considerable damage to the pitch and a lot of criticisms were raised for the improper use of the stadium on social media. A team official also told Sportskeeda that there had been damage on the sidelines of the playing area.
The Dynamos' next home game on December 16 was in a doubt due to the bad ground conditions but the official stated that the staff is working to get the pitch ready on time.
What's next?
The repair work on the ground is underway and it should be available for the match between Delhi and Goa.
Author's take
It is indeed worrying to see a ground under SAI being treated like this. The authority should take the matter with the seriousness and ensure teams do not have to suffer.