Dattaraj did no wrong in filing FIR: ISL

Panaji: The Indian Super League (ISL) Regulatory Commission has not been able to find fault with Dattaraj Salgaocar’s decision to file a FIR against Elano Blumer despite the league organizers claiming “such a complaint is unprecedented in the world of sports.”
The FC Goa co-owner filed a first information report (FIR) with the Margao police station against the Chennaiyin FC captain for alleged abuse and assault after the ISL final on December 20 last year.The Brazilian midfielder and marquee player was arrested and subsequently released on bail the same night. But despite the ISL organizers claiming “this action brought considerable negative publicity and disrepute to the ISL and Indian football” the five-member regulatory commission said Dattaraj had not blatantly flouted rules.
“All the stakeholders subject to the ISL rules, including the players, officials and team owners, upon executing the Participation Agreement and participating in the ISL seasons, as per applicable rules, have agreed to be bound by the ISL Rules. This would also include the mandated disciplinary procedure, in the event of a breach.
In ordinary course, a person should essentially subject himself to the jurisdiction of the body established under ISL Rules. However, in the absence of any negative mandate, it is not possible to state that there is any breach by initiating criminal proceedings. However, it would have been better if recourse, under the ISL Rules, had been resorted to before going to the police station,” the five-member ISL Regulatory Commission said in their 68-page order a copy of which TOI had access to.
“Filing of FIR for an incident on the football field is not unprecedented in Goa,” said a senior Goan official.
“In the past there have been several incidences when a referee has been assaulted and he has filed an FIR with the nearest police station against the player. Even action has been taken and, in the past, referees were backed by the Goa Football Association (GFA) to file cases,” said the official.
The fracas that ensued after FC Goa lost the ISL final against Chennaiyin FC 2-3 left a bitter taste in the mouth with Dattaraj demanding that Elano, formerly with Manchester City, should not be part of the ISL prize distribution ceremony.
“This was not a decision that could have been taken immediately on the field and therefore ISL officials informed FC Goa officials, including the club owners, that ISL would conduct an investigation after receipt of a complaint from FC Goa as per the rules, and assured them that ISL would take the required action after such investigations and following due process,” the league organizers said in their defence, according to their submission to the ISL Regulatory Commission.