Kerala Blasters fans burn Sunil Chettri's effigy in protest against free kick - WATCH

Bengaluru FC's controversial victory against Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL) has seen some adverse reactions from all over India since the incident happened on Friday. A video has gone viral on social media where a set of Kerala supporters could be seen burning an effigy of Sunil Chhetri who was at the receiving end of severe criticism. A goal from the Bengaluru forward proved to be the difference as Kerala footballers staged a walk-off in the ISL playoff.

Sunil Chhetri went down on the ground as he was fouled and the referee awarded a free kick. As the opponent players were busy forming a wall Sunil took the freekick quickly and the goalkeeper could not do anything. Kerala players were quick to protest as they complained that the referee hadn't blown the whistle and thus the goal shouldn't count.

Kerala Blasters supporters burn effigy of Sunil Chhetri 

But the referee went ahead with the goal which sparked massive outroar from the Kerala camp. Blasters manager Ivan Vukomanović called his team off the ground and left the pitch. Kerala supporters were furious over the incident and they even went one step ahead as a group of supporters burnt an effigy of the Indian superstar.

Sunil Chhetri's effigy (with the #BengaluruFC crest on it) was burnt in Kerala yesterday in the aftermath of #KBFC's game against the Blues. #IndianFootball #ISL #KBFC pic.twitter.com/Fq5jlfxulh

— VOIF (@VoiceofIndianF1) March 4, 2023

Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal raised his voice on Twitter. He wrote, "Are you serious @KeralaBlasters - is this how you want this game and our league and Indian football to be depicted globally? Is this how you want all your thousands of fans to remember this team and this manager? This is a disgrace - congratulations to@bengalurufc - semis!"

Are you serious @KeralaBlasters - is this how you want this game and our league and Indian football to be depicted globally? Is this how you want all your thousands of fans to remember this team and this manager? This is a disgrace - congratulations to @bengalurufc - semis!

— Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) March 3, 2023

Bengaluru manager Simon Grayson too insisted he has never seen anything of the sort. "It's not the way that we wanted to get through to the semi-final, it obviously tings with all the controversy and we all know what happened. We got the free-kick and Sunil (Chhetri) said he didn't want the wall, he didn't need ten yards, and the referee said no problem. Sunil waited for (Adrian) Luna to get out of the way and then put it in the top corner."