AIFF stops 4 Chennai City players from playing Real Kashmir game despite testing Covid negative

CHENNAI: Chennai City FC (CCFC) were hurt by the absence of four players -- goalkeeper Kabir T, Vijay Thomas, Umashankar and Vijay N -- after they tested coronavirus positive in their first I-League loss against Real Kashmir FC at the Mohun Bagan ground in Kolkata on Friday.
However, CCFC refuted the Covid test reports of the AIFF which were conducted on January 12.In a separate test conducted by the club on Thursday (a copy of which is with TOI), the results of all the four players came negative and CCFC immediately requested the federation to allow the quartet to play. But the AIFF didn’t give permission.
A top AIFF official said that allowing the players concerned could have compromised the safety of others. “We are aware that the test of these four players came negative when they were tested by the club. But since football is a contact sport, we couldn’t risk the safety of others,” the official said.
CCFC co-owner Rohit Ramesh vented out his frustration. “After the players tested positive, they were isolated from the rest of the squad. But they were back in the bubble again once they tested negative. So I fail to understand why we were denied the permission,” Rohit said.
The CCFC co-owner had a point as several players across disciplines — the most recent being Saina Nehwal at the Thailand Open — are allowed to play after undergoing similar experiences.
The AIFF’s decision didn’t make matters easy for CCFC as they lost 0-2. For Real Kashmir, Dipanda Dicka scored one and set up another for Lalrindika Ralte.