Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca accused Churchill Brothers coach Alfred Fernandes of kicking defender Juan Antonio (aka Juanan) during their I-League clash at Goa’s Tilak Maidan. The Blues lost 2-1 in a match where they were reduced to 10 men following the sending off of centre-back John Johnson and that was when the incident occurred.
The defending champions had opened the scoring through a Sunil Chhetri penalty in the first half before Anthony Wolfe had equalised at the other end before the half-time whistle. Chesterpoul Lyngdoh then scored a second for the home side early in the first half to give the Goan side the lead.
However, in the 84th minute, Richard Costa was chopped down by Johnson as he attempted to prevent a counter-attack. The red card was deserved as it was a late challenge with one leg up in the air and Johnson was nowhere close to the ball.
It was after the red card that the game descended into pandemonium for the next few minutes. As the Churchill Brothers staff protested the decision, Johnson made his feelings known as he headed for the tunnel which resulted in a confrontation between players and staff from both clubs.
Soon after, Alfred Fernandes was seen lying on the ground clutching his head. A bottle was also thrown from the crowd into the technical area and the match officials and stadium security took a few minutes to appease both parties so the game could be restarted.
Also read: Churchill Brothers 2-1 Bengaluru FC – as it happened
Roca: Shameful day for Indian football
At the post-match press conference, before Roca would answer any questions about the game, the livid Bengaluru manager said he wished to make a statement.
“This was a shameful day for Indian football,” Roca said. “I have never seen a coach kicking a player of the other team.”
When pressed about the incident and the identity of the player, Roca said it was Juanan.
“The coach of Churchill Brothers kicked one of my players. I hope this coach never works in India again.”
Roca was then quizzed about the red card and Johnson’s reaction and said that these things happen when players who are sent off are provoked.
“It can happen to football players who get a red card,” Roca said on Johnson’s reaction. “But a coach can never provoke a player in a situation like this. Churchill Brothers does not deserve to have a coach like this.”
Roca also made it clear that he was not defending Johnson, but that he was trying to highlight the attack on his other centre-back.
“No, I'm not defending him [Johnson],” he said. “My defender [Juanan] was trying to separate the players and this coach kicked him from behind. A coach is not allowed to do such things.”
Roca not impressed with time added on
While the incident itself saw a few minutes shaved off the clock, Roca was unhappy that only four minutes was added on – a sentiment also shared by the commentators who were surprised that only four minutes were added on after a number of stoppages.
Besides the red card incident, the game was stopped when Churchill players such as goalkeeper Priyant and goalscorer Chesterpoul Lyngdoh required treatment at least twice. Lyngdoh even needed to be stretchered off towards the end of the game after he suffered a cramp.
“We lost about 10 minutes but referee added only four minutes,” Roca complained. “I cannot control these things. The Churchill players were out there wasting time and only four minutes were added.”
A disgusted Roca then refused to answer any more questions and stormed off from the press conference.
Fernandes defends himself
After Fernandes was made aware of Roca’s comments he defended himself and explained the situation.
“You can see the video footage,” he said. “The incident happened in front of my technical area. I did not go on the field, he came charging at me. The players are supposed to be on the field, not in my technical area. They came and pushed me in my technical area.
“I don’t think their coach knows the real situation because he probably didn’t see it. He has to first check the footage and then only complain. And he has no right to tell me that I should not be the coach – it’s none of his business.”
Regarding the red card, he said: “First of all, action should be taken against the player [Johnson]. He’s the one who came into my technical area. He pushed me and gave me a knock here,” pointing to the back of his head.
When asked if he was planning to file a complaint, he said: “I don’t want to file a complaint against the coach [Roca]. We will file a complaint against the player.”
