Chennaiyin FC’s dramatic Indian Super League (ISL) victory was overshadowed by an alleged post –match tussle between Captain Elano and FC Goa owner Dattaraj Salgaocar on December 20. The latter lodged an FIR with Goa Police, which saw the Brazilian arrested and then later released on bail.
However, video evidence received by the Police suggests that Elano didn’t lay a finger on Salgaocar. A source closely related to the case, who is in possession of this video said, “I can assure you that Elano didn’t even touch anyone from FC Goa in the hall. Yes, he was angry, but there was no physical tussle involved. This video evidence is proof of that.”
The ISL regulatory commission is set to meet on Tuesday, to decide a verdict on the issue. Hence, this particular video in possession of club authorities and Police could go a long way in clearing Elano’s name.
Our source added, “The video shows Elano chatting with Zico about the match, with the Coach being extremely animated. Seeing this, the FC Goa owners and official come and crowd out Elano. However, Elano didn’t even raise his hand, he was verbally arguing with them, just the same way Salgaocar was. Sundar Raman, CEO of Reliance Sports saw this scuffle and immediately knew the potential of a fight. Hence, he went in between and broke it up. Post that the duo didn’t even meet each other.”
Post the verbal altercation, the video showed Salgaocar making repeated phone calls. According to our source, this was the call made to the Goa Police. After making the phone call, Salgaocar is seen complaining to the ISL officials about Elano’s behaviour.
He said, “I know for a fact that the Police were aware that the stadium had CCTV footage in the tunnel. Don’t know why he was still arrested because they had access to this. Maybe they didn’t check it at all or refused to acknowledge its existence. The only mistake Elano did make was to go to the FC Goa dugout.”
If the nuances in the video are accurate, it could see Elano not being penalised for the incident. However, a fake FIR charge could be lodged against the owners. The Goa Police were unavailable for a comment on the issue.
