AFC Cup Tie Between Bengaluru FC And Tampines Rovers Hit By Cauvery Water Row

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup quarterfinal match between I-League champions Bengaluru FC and Singapore's Tampines Rovers will be played behind closed doors due to security reasons. The match in Bengaluru will now start at 4 PM instead of being played under floodlights (7PM start).

The match has been affected by the Cauvery water dispute as Bengaluru has seen mayhem in the last 24 hours. Tampines Rovers were forced to cancel their training on Monday. Wednesday's match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, the home of Bengaluru FC, is the first of a two-legged contest of this premier Asian tourney.

"The match will be played behind closed doors at the request of the local authority following unrelated incidents in the city in the last few days," said an AFC press statement on Tuesday.

Bengaluru FC are unhappy that they will miss a lot of home support.

"We always thrive on the support that you - our passionate home fans bring to the stands, and as much as we will be handicapped by your absence, your safety and security will always mean more to us than everything else," a statement from Bengaluru FC said.

Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca, for whom this will be his first game in charge since taking over the reins, expressed disappointment at the prospect of playing a home fixture behind closed doors but said the team would do everything to make sure it isn't a disadvantage.

"It's a real shame to not have our supporters in the stands tomorrow but these are circumstances that we have to accept now. All we can say at this moment is that we're going to look to put in a good performance in a bid to get the best result. It's been three and a half months without competition and the boys were keen to show where we are trying to get to. We just have to move on and give this our best," said Roca.

The Indian champions have qualified for the AFC Cup quarterfinals for the first time after they defeated the much-fancied Kitchee SC 3-2 in the round of 16. Bengaluru FC are under a new coach - Albert Roca - after the club ended its contract with the successful Ashley Westwood.