FC Goa punishment: We need to respect ISL authorities' decision, says Abhishek Bachchan

Mumbai: The decision of the Indian Super League’s regulatory commission to severely punish FC Goa for the unsavoury happenings, after it lost to Chennayin FC in the final of the second edition of ISL, should be respected by all, said the club’s co-owner Abhishek Bachchan. “ISL has given its judgement and we will have to adhere by that. At the end of the day there is a governing body that takes care of these things. We have to listen to what they say and go with that,” said the Bollywood actor while talking to reporters during the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL)’s player auctions in Mumbai. The Junior Bachchan owns Jaipur Pink Panthers in PKL. [caption id=“attachment_2780762” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Chennaiyin FC co-owner Abhishek Bachchan. AFP[/caption] “I just feel that at the end of the day it’s a sport, these things happen. Wherever there’s an organised league there is also a regulatory committee and they also have the power to do and you have to adhere to what they finally decide. We respect the decision the committee had taken,” he added. In its judgement of May 5, the ISL’s regulatory commission came down hard on FC Goa by docking the franchise 15 points in the next edition of the competition, imposed a fine of Rs 11 crore while debarring the club’s owners, Shrinivas Dempo and Dattaraj Salgaocar, for two and three years respectively. In the final order, FC Goa were found in breach of ISL regulations/code of conduct bringing disrepute to ISL, following the incidents on December 20 last, soon after the final in Goa. The promotional body of ISL, Football Sports Development Ltd, has since then lodged an appeal with the ISL Appeals Panel against the 15-point deduction, as it felt the action of individual owners should not affect the fans of FC Goa, and all teams must compete on the field evenly.