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What's the story?
The ISL has had its fair share of controversies this season, and violence between fans is something that has been rampant in the tournament this season.
Now, fresh reports of fan violence has come to light after a number of Chennaiyin FC fans, who were supporting FC Pune City at the Sri Kanteerava in the match against Bengaluru FC on Friday night, were reportedly attacked by a number of local supporters.
A police complaint has also been lodged against these alleged perpetrators.
In case you didn't know...
There were previous instances of fan violence at the Kanteerava Stadium as well, when Chennaiyin FC had beaten the Blues 2-1 last year, as videos of a policeman assaulting one of the away fans with a baton surfaced on the internet.
The heart of the matter
A number of supporters from the Orange Army Fan Club (Pune) and the Super Machaans Fan Club (Chennai) came together to support FC Pune City in their away game at Bengaluru FC.
However, after the match ended in a 1-1 draw, the group of Super Machaans fans were intercepted by a local group of supporters, who allegedly beat them up.
"These local fans had started to abuse us from inside the stadium only. But after the match, when we dispersed into our small groups and were heading out of the stadium, a group of seven-eight people came and started hitting the Super Machans guys," said Akshay, a member of the Orange Army Fan Club.
"We saw them being attacked and immediately moved in to help. We even pleaded the police present nearby, to help us out. But they refused to intervene, as the incident was taking place outside the stadium gates. Eventually, we had to take refuge inside the stadium.
Akshay even went on to reveal that the Pune and Chennai fans had got hold of one of the perpetrators and handed him over to the police, but the alleged attacker was let go after they spoke with the cops.
Some of the fans were injured in the incident and were later given treatment by one of the FC Pune City doctors.
What's next?
While these kinds of violence around football is a disturbing thing, it remains to be seen what steps the club and the league authorities take to prevent such things from happening in the future.
Author's take
It is sad to see that fans resort to such violence, especially after the match was over. Such acts of violence never help anyone, and only tarnishes the image of the beautiful game.
