PANAJI: The Indian Super League (ISL) saw its third postponement as Kerala Blasters FC did not have the “requisite number of players available for the match” against Mumbai City FC on Sunday.
Kerala, the league leaders, were forced into isolation since their clash against Odisha FC on Wednesday and didn’t have a single training session prior to Sunday’s scheduled clash.
While two players, hotel staff and non-technical staff were known to have tested positive for Covid-19, there were no indications of a postponement during the meeting with CEOs earlier in the day. In fact, both the teams shared social media posts surrounding the all-important clash, only for the League to announce the postponement at 4:15 p.m., less than three and half hours before the game.
Except for Hyderabad, Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City, all other teams are in quarantine at the moment. Goa are allowed to step out of their hotel rooms only for training at the nearby Sesa FA ground in Sirsaim.
The organisers had a meeting with CEOs of all clubs on Sunday afternoon to discuss “urgent matters.”
At last count, sources said, there were at least 60 positives within the eight bio-secure bubbles that have been breached, so far. Between Mohun Bagan, Goa and East Bengal, there are 37 cases.
“The league, as of now, is not considering postponement,” a senior official who attended the meeting told TOI. “Matches will be evaluated on case-tocase basis, and if teams are unable to field 15 players, the rules will come into effect.”
