ISL 2018-19: Chennaiyin FC captain, Jamshedpur FC star suspended for three games each
The AIFF Disciplinary Committee on Monday handed out three-match suspensions and fines of ₹2 lakh each to Chennaiyin FC's Mailson Alves and Jamshedpur FC's Carlos Calvo for breaching the AIFF Code of Conduct.
While Alves was charged for elbowing an opponent during Chennaiyin's 3-1 loss at home to Delhi Dynamos in December, Calvo was found guilty of passing racist remarks during an ISL game.
That means Alves — Chennaiyin's captain — will miss the defending champions' games against NorthEast United FC, FC Pune City, and Bengaluru FC. The champions are languishing at the bottom of the table, with only five points from their opening 12 games, and are at a stage where they are all but ruled out of making the ISL playoffs this season.
Mailson was involved in a scuffle with a bunch of Delhi players, both at half-time and at the end of the game. The AIFF Disciplinary Committee, headed by Ushanath Banerjee, has decided that a three-game suspension would be the right course of action.
Calvo, on the other hand, will miss Jamshedpur's games against FC Goa, ATK, Mumbai City FC, and will return for the FC Pune City game on Feb 16. Although Calvo has been charged with passing racist remarks, it hasn't been made clear when or against whom this particular incident occurred.
The director of the Delhi Dynamos, Rohan Sharma, said Calvo had been suspended for making racist remarks during the game between Delhi Dynamos and Jamshedpur FC. Sharma insisted he was glad that the AIFF took the matter at hand, seriously.
Sharma also added that he wasn't aware if this action came on the back of the report that Delhi Dynamos had filed with the league, while also mentioning that he didn't want to name the player at the receiving end of the remarks from Calvo, because the player himself didn't want to identify.
This isn't the first time in the recent past that the AIFF has come into the spotlight for bans and fines. Earlier this season, there was a furore when Bengaluru FC was fined ₹15 lakh for offensive chants from its fans. There were also a large number of questions raised when former Pune City manager Ranko Popovic was banned and fined multiple times for bringing into question the dodgy refereeing that has plagued the league, which is still in its infancy.
While Chennaiyin are not expected to have too much of a hit, given their lowly position on the table, Jamshedpur will be hurt by the absence of Calvo. With their talismanic attacking midfielder Sergio Cidoncha already ruled out through injury, it's a huge blow for Cesar Ferrando to not have another of his big attacking weapons available.
Although Calvo has only scored twice in 12 appearances for Jamshedpur, he's been integral to their attacking play, along with Michael Soosairaj and Pablo Morgado, in the absence of Cidoncha.
The ISL resumes on Friday, 25th January, when Kerala Blasters host ATK.