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Allegations of racism reared their ugly head once again after a Chennaiyin FC fan harrassed a supporter of NorthEast United during the two teams' ISL 2017 match in Chennai On Thursday. The video went viral on social media and evoked quick responses from both clubs as it later turned out that the fan was indeed drunk and it was an incident of eve-teasing.
There were allegations of racism as well, with many fans on social media accusing the Chennai fans of racially abusing the NEUFC supports.
We take a look at five instances in Indian football where the ugly issue of racism became the centre of the debate!
#1 Mohun Bagan fans allegedly racially abuse Yusif Yakubu
Mumbai FC played Mohun Bagan at the Kalyani Stadium in the suburbs of Kolkata in the 2013 I-League, where the Mariners defeated the away side 3-2 in a thrilling encounter.
After the match, Mumbai FC talisman Yusif Yakubu made serious claims of being abused 'racially' by Mohun Bagan fans during play and also after the match.
"It's beyond me why the fans were abusing me. There were all kinds of slangs and abusive language, some of which I can't even mention. This is racism," Yakubu had said at the time.
When asked whether he would lodge an official complaint, Yakubu said, "Why should I? It won't be of any help. Even if Mohun Bagan are penalised, they will still somehow find a way out."
#2 Ashley Westwood allegedly racially abused East Bengal Players
Ashley Westwood has often being accused of 'sledging' the opposition.
During the 2016 I-League, Bengaluru head coach Ashley Westwood was been accused of making racist comments by East Bengal team doctor Shambo Samrat Samajdar in an East Bengal vs Bengaluru FC Clash at the Barasat Stadium, Kolkata which ended up in a 0-1 win for the visitors.
In a report published in Bengali daily Ebela, Samrat was quoted saying, "He was using unspeakable language to insult Indians throughout the game. It didn't stop even after Bengaluru FC won the match."
In the post-match press conference, the then East Bengal coach Biswajit Bhattacharya, too, accused the Bengaluru FC coach of making provocative comments against the Red and Golds.
Ashley Westwood was allowed a clean chit from the AIFF Disciplinary Committee citing lack of evidence produced by East Bengal in the official complaint.
#3 Arnab Mondal allegedly racially abuses Cornell Glenn in the Kolkata Derby
Kolkata derbies are always keenly contested affairs and the tensions among the fans often reflect on the field and as well as on the sidelines. The second leg of the Kolkata Derby in the 2016 I-League ended in a 2-1 win for East Bengal over Mohun Bagan in Siliguri.
Mohun Bagan stalwart Cornell Glenn accused Arnab Mondal of using 'aggressive and abusive' words against him. Mohun Bagan lodged an official complaint to AIFF on the grounds of 'racism'.
"Arnab, who was found guilty of using aggressive/abusive words against Cornell Glen, is suspended for next two matches in I-League and he is liable to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000 within seven days," the AIFF said in a press release later.
Arnab Mondal was not found guilty on the grounds of racism, but only for using abusive words.
#4 Aizawl FC fans allegedly face racism on multiple occasions
Aizawl FC fans are present in almost all cities of India.
Aizawl FC from Mizoram, scripted history in the 2017 edition of the I-League, as they became the first ever team from the NorthEast to be crowned as the 'Champions of India'. Everything went well for the Reds on the field, but this was not the case in the stands.
Several Aizawl FC fans claimed that they were victims of 'racial abuse' across the country in the club's away games.
Sportskeeda had earlier got in touch with Aizawl fans, who said:
''They hurl abuses like, “If you want to play football, go play in China, why play in India”. That really hurts us because despite the fact that there have been so many players in the national team over the years who are from the North East and people are still not being able to accept it.''
“That hurts because we travel from one part of the country to another to watch our team play and at the end, we hear things like ‘go back to China’.”
“We think during the heat of the competition, especially during matchdays, people don’t tend to give much thought to what is right and what is wrong; they say whatever they see. So, that’s the time when they are at their most racist, and stuff like Chinese, etc. are being called.”
Aizawl FC fans have also been abused in their own backyard in the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium as per the Aizawl FC Fans. They claimed :
''Lot of times travelling fans come to Aizawl, and they essentially don’t spare you with the racism. Obviously, it’s far more toned down because we are more in number at home, but we can understand them during the game, especially Bengali fans when they are talking their local dialect, we can understand what they are throwing at us, like Chinese c**** and stuff like that.''
#5 Chennaiyin FC fan allegedly racially taunts NorthEast United fans
In the Indian Super League 2017 match in Chennai between Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United, away fans from the north-east were caught on tape being harassed by the home fans.
A video surfaced on social media where a group of men taunted a female NEUFC fan as the crowd looked on silently. Twitter was abuzz with claims of racism and many fans voiced their outrage over the incident.
Chennaiyin FC released an official statement the next day :
NorthEast United FC also released an official statement condemning the same.
