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What's the story?
Spanish giants Atletico Madrid, who until earlier this month were the parent club of Indian Super League champions ATK, are contemplating suing the Indian club on account of a breach of contract if reports from sources are to be believed.
Atletico Madrid have been involved heavily with ATK over the past three seasons, supplying the club with players, managers and even their colours and prestige.
The context
Atletico Madrid came together with ATK prior to the start of the ISL in 2014 and have seen their partner club enjoy unprecedented success since. ATK have won two of the last three ISL titles, making the club the most successful ever in the franchise league's short history.
The heart of the matter
It was believed that Atletico Madrid would be more involved with the Kolkata club in the fourth year of the clubs' association, but ATK's majority owner Sanjiv Goenka explained earlier this month that due to Atletico Madrid's non-contribution to the financial side, both parties decided to part ways.
With ATK no longer part of Atletico Madrid, the Spanish club are exploring legal angles that could put the current ISL champions in trouble. Atletico Madrid could also head to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) taking ATK's case but the La Liga club are themselves under a transfer ban imposed by the CAS due to a breach of FIFA's youth transfer regulations.
What's next?
The new-look ISL season kicks off in mid-November this year and there will be ten teams fighting for the title instead of the earlier eight. That aside, matches will be played on weekends this time around instead of weekdays, a change that marks the start of the ISL as a proper league.
ATK, the defending champions, will look to win a hat-trick of titles in the forthcoming season, but should they be taken to the CAS, it remains to be seen what is in store for them. According to sources, ATK might even face suspension from the ISL should they lose the case.
Author's take
While this comes as a surprise to many that Atletico Madrid are considering suing a baby that they themselves saw grow, it is a classic case of ATK outgrowing their potential that Atletico Madrid envisaged when both clubs penned the deal in 2014.
As things stand, Atletico are only considering suing ATK and nothing has yet been finalised, but should they go ahead with it, ATK could court huge trouble in the coming days.
