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What’s the story?
The first Southern Derby of ISL 2017 between Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Balsters saw a grandstand finish as CK Vineeth cancelled out Mihelic’s late penalty with virtually the last kick of the game, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Chennai, on Friday.
After the match however, two groups of fans seemed to have confronted each other, with the Kerala Blasters fans alleging that their counterparts had pelted stones at them.
In case you didn’t know…
While certain rivalries in Indian football are quite fierce, stone pelting is not a very common sight for the beautiful game in the country. Around five years back, Mohun Bagan player Syed Rahim Nabi was struck on the head with a stone, that seemed to have been aimed at the referee from the stands. As the player was carried off the pitch, turmoil descended on the Salt Lake Stadium, with the Kolkata Derby being suspended for that day. Violence erupted after this incident and things were only brought under control after heavy intervention from the police. Around 40 people were injured that day.
Heart of the matter
Bragging rights were shared, as the match came to a draw at the Marina Arena. However, outside the stadium, but sets of fans seemed to have clashed against each other.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, a member of the Manjappada Fan Club, a fan club of Kerala Blasters, alleged that a number of Chennaiyin FC fans had targeted them and pelted stones at the travelling fans, before being intervened by the police, who swiftly brought the situation under control.
A video has also surfaced on Youtube, where claims of stone-pelting is being made.
What’s next?
While there seems to be no clear evidence (even in the video the exact stone pelting incident is not clear), a confrontation between the fans certainly seems to have taken place, before a policeman rushed in to calm the situation down. With no clear evidence available as of yet, it remains to be seen what steps are taken for this.
Author’s take
Instances of stone-pelting are never a good sign for any sport, let alone football. the supporters must realize that their rivalry is supposed to last only during the 90 minutes, and not after it.
