Three players of IndiaтАЩs Bengaluru FC flouted quarantine norms in Maldives, leading to the AFC Cup Group D South Asia Zone games scheduled in the archipelagic Indian Ocean nation being called off.
The matches have been postponed following the bio-bubble breach amid the raging second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the subcontinent. Group D games were to be held centrally in the Maldives capital of Mal├й, but have been called off for now after local authorities wrote to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) of the breach and sought a postponement.
The AFC Cup, AsiaтАЩs second-tier club football competition, was not held last year due to the pandemic. Sunday’s development comes after the Bengaluru FC players flouted quarantine norms, inviting the fury of the Maldives sports minister, Ahmed Mahloof.
Bengaluru FC were scheduled to face Maldives club Eagles on Tuesday in a play-off with the winners to join IndiaтАЩs ATK Mohun Bagan, BangladeshтАЩs Basundhara Kings and MaldivesтАЩ Maziya in Group D. Local authorities though asked Bengaluru FC to leave the country following the protocol breach.
Quoting a report in a local media outlet Channel News Maldives that said a few Bengaluru FC players were pictured moving in the busy streets of Mal├й in violation of rules for visitors from India, Mahloof tweeted early on Sunday: тАЬUnacceptable behavior from @bengalurufc breaching the strict guidelines from HPA & @theafcdotcom. The club should leave Maldives immediately as we canтАЩt entertain this act. We honoured the commitment we gave a few months back even with the surge in cases & pressure from the public.тАЭ
Health Protection Agency (HPA) is the apex health body of Maldives. тАЬWe have informed FAM that we cannot hold the match, and asked them to make arrangements for @bengalurufcтАЩs departure. We will be in further correspondence with AFC through @MaldivesFA to postpone the group stage,тАЭ Mahloof added.
Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal tweeted his apology. тАЬOn behalf of @bengalurufc I am extremely sorry for the inexcusable behavior of three of our foreign players/staff while in Male – the strictest action will be taken against these players/staff. We have let @AFCCup down and can only say that this will never happen again.тАЭ
Bengaluru beat NepalтАЩs Tribuwan Army Club 5-0 in the preliminary qualifiers to make the play-offs. Eagles made the cut after Dhaka was unable to host their qualifier against Abahani Limited last month and AFC awarded the tie to the former.
The domestic players of Bagan were due to leave Kolkata for Mal├й on Monday with the Spanish contingent, including coach Antonio Lopez Habas and his staff, scheduled to fly in directly from Spain. The clubтАЩs Fijian star Roy Krishna had a ticket for Mal├й a day later and Australian David Williams was trying to get permission from Australian authorities for the trip. Indian players Sheikh Sahil and Prabir Das had been ruled out after testing positive for Covid-19.
тАЬParticipating clubs who have travelled to Maldives will be required to arrange for their return home while adhering to the COVID-19 health and travel protocols put in place by the country. At the same time, AFC is in contact with all other participating clubs and officials who have not entered the Maldives to cancel their travel arrangements,тАЭ AFC said in its statement that confirmed the postponement of the matches.
Many sports events have been cancelled or postponed in South Asia amid the devastating second wave. The most notable was the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 cricket league, called off after positive cases among players and team staff. Australian players, coaches and support staff in IPL have moved to Maldives to be in quarantine as direct flights home from India have been barred until May 15 due to the pandemic situation.
IndiaтАЩs Tokyo Olympics-bound athletes and those looking for a last-gasp qualification spot have also been impacted with many countries imposing travel restrictions for those from India.
