ISLKerela Blasters players walk off after Bengaluru FC's Sunil Chhetri takes early freekick in playoff match

By India Today Sports DeskAn Indian Super League playoff descended into chaos when the Kerala Blasters walked off the pitch in protest after Bengaluru FC’s Sunil Chhetri scored from a quickly-taken free kick on Friday.

With the score tied at 0-0 in the first half of extra time, Indian skipper Chhetri stood over a free kick and as the Kerala goalkeeper was setting up the wall, the Bengaluru forward quickly scooped the ball over the defence and into the net.

The referee awarded the goal and as Bengaluru’s players celebrated in front of their home fans, Kerala’s Serbian coach Ivan Vukomanovic stood with his arms raised before calling his team to the touchline.

Vukomanovic and his players argued with the match officials before walking off the pitch in protest and headed straight down the tunnel.

The Bengaluru team remained on the pitch and waited 20 minutes before league officials awarded the win to the home team. Simon Grayson’s side will now play table toppers Mumbai City in the semi-finals.

“Are you serious @KeralaBlasters – is this how you want this game and our league and Indian football to be depicted globally?” Bengaluru owner Parth Jindal said on Twitter.

Kerala Blasters did not leave things alone and tweeted out from their official handle mocking the referee of the game.

“Still trying to figure out when the referee whistled or marked the distance of the wall,” Kerala wrote via their account.

In the live commentary the expert panel sided with Chhetri and said that the referee might have asked him if he needed a whistle to play the ball or not. However, fans on social media were less convinced and called Chhetri out for his cheeky act.

The match was deemed 1-0 in Bengaluru’s favour and the team will be going into the semi-finals of the ISL 2022/23.