Salam Ranjan Singh, who is the only player from the I-League to make it to the Indian squad for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, has reportedly been listed as a recruit of Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters in the tournament’s records.
All the other 22 players in the squad head coach Stephen Constantine picked for the Asian Cup play in the ISL. Defender Singh, 23, plays for East Bengal in the I-League.
At a time when I-League clubs are accusing the All India Football Federation of neglecting the league, this error, reported by the Times of India, could not have come at a worse moment.
The list of players and their respective clubs was sent by the AIFF to the Asian Football Confederation, the report said.
“It is a clerical mistake,” AIFF general secretary Kushal Das told the daily. Das, however, said he did not know who made the error. “It can be AFC or AIFF, anyone. I’ll have to find out,” he said.
East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar was livid with the error, saying it was a “crime” if it was intentional. “It is not only dishonouring the teams who have participated in the I-League, it is disrespecting the entire league,” he was quoted as saying.
“If this is a clerical mistake, it is unparalleled. It is not correct. This shouldn’t happen in the future.
“People in authority should be cautious, so that club’s or the player’s honour is not compromised. Whosoever is given the responsibility should have the awareness – especially since the AFC Asian Cup is such an important tournament,” he added.
India will be competing in the Asian Cup for the fourth time in their history, having previously participated in the 1964, 1984 and 2011 editions.
India have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts UAE, Bahrain and Thailand. India will take on Thailand in their first match on January 6 at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi.