The Blasters’ former striker Michael Chopra has made the sensational allegations over social media.
Kerala Blasters assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed has been accused of taking kickbacks from the agents of players who sign for the club. The sensational charge has been made by former Blasters striker and Ahmed’s one-time teammate Michael Chopra.
Chopra was one of the marquee players in the league when he signed for the Kochi-based side, but had a dismissal spell scoring just one goal in 19 games, in what was an otherwise very good campaign for the Yellow Army. They reached the final that season, only to fall short against Jose Molina’s ATK on penalties.
@ishuberk whats the story about you taking back handers from agents if the players sign for @KeralaBlasters @kbfc_manjappada take note what’s happening to your amazing club #corruption #indian #football #fifa #isl
— Michael Chopra (@MichaelChopra) February 16, 2020
The former striker to Twitter on Sunday evening
Perhaps not surprisingly, he was not offered a contract post the 2016 season and after being without a club for a while he decided to hang up his boots. Currently, he has been acting as an agent.
Ishfaq Ahmed, on the other hand, has been serving as an assistant coach for Kerala Blasters. He previously played for the club in 2014. The tactician then switched to a player-coach role from 2015-2017. He also served as an assistant for Jamshedpur FC in their inaugural season in 2017-18.
🚨 ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨#KeralaBlasters pic.twitter.com/PxDEXoIPId
— Kerala Blasters FC (@KeralaBlasters) February 16, 2020
The club has responded to the allegation
During an illustrious playing career Ishfaq Ahmed played for some of the biggest clubs in the country including former I-League champions Dempo Sports Club as well as Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
Kerala Blasters have had a disappointing campaign this time around, only managing to notch up 18 points in 17 games, even though the club invested heavily in the summer by bringing in veteran tactician Eelco Schattorie from NorthEast United FC to lead the team. The Dutchman was followed by star striker Barhomolew Ogbeche, who heads the league’s goalscoring charts with 13.
After a roller-coaster of a season this is the last piece of news that Blasters fans would have wanted and it will be interesting to see what transpires in the latest controversy to grip the domestic game.
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When Khel Now approached the club for a statement regarding the issue they were unavailable for comment.
Kerala Blasters now travel to Bhubaneswar next Sunday for their last game this season and the team will hope to finish the season on a high note against Odisha FC.