ISL 2017: Police allegedly lathi-charges Chennaiyin FC fan during match against Bengaluru FC, watch video

What's the story?

Chennaiyin FC fans have been in the news for all the wrong reasons this season in ISL 2017. Following the unfortunate news of harassment a fan in a game against NorthEast United FC, Chennaiyin FC were put under the scanner and security was tightened around all stadiums where ISL matches were held.

That, however, has meant that fans of the Machans were unable to celebrate their hard-fought victory over bitter rivals Bengaluru FC as can be seen from footage revealed by a fan page on Twitter.

Brutally hitting away fans with a lathi for celebrating a win with the players? We strongly condemn the actions of this police personnel. Take immediate action @IndSuperLeague @bengalurufc @WestBlockBlues ?cc: @fni @juniorbachchan @KhelNow @Jerseyfootymag @timesofindia pic.twitter.com/1YTKXHO1oW

— Chennaiyin FC Fans (@Supermachans) December 18, 2017

The Tweet shows a police officer striking one of the Chennaiyin FC fans, who was celebrating their victory over Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, on Sunday.

In case you didn't know...

The travelling Chennaiyin FC fans were celebrating their 2-1 away win in Bengaluru when the incident occurred. The win may have been iconic but what happened afterwards has caused a furore on social media.

The heart of the matter

Chennaiyin FC's victory meant that they pushed up to third in the table and are now equal on points with Bengaluru FC, an age-old rival for Chennaiyin fans in a rivalry which goes well beyond just football. The police intervention, however, remains a question to be answered.

Chennaiyin scored in the 88' minute through Dhanpal Ganesh just three minutes after Sunil Chhetri had appeared to give Bengaluru a draw and the timing of the late goal seemed to have sent Chennaiyin fans into a frenzy of excitement. The raucous crowd reaction prompted one of the policemen to strike the fans with his baton.

What's next?

An official statement from the club is yet to be received, but the fans are certainly unhappy with the behaviour of police officials inside the stadium.

Author's take

Law and order maintenance is a given especially in packed stadiums but with a nine-second video available, it is hard to ascertain the exact facts. Time will tell whether the right call was made or not.