FC Goa Players Pause Play During ACL 2 Match Against FC Istiklol To Highlight ISL's Uncertainty

FC Goa players paused play during the opening seconds of their AFC Champions League Two match against FC Istiklol of Tajikistan at Margao on Wednesday as a symbolic gesture to highlight the uncertainty in the Indian Super League (ISL). FC Goa, who are already out of reckoning for the next stage, lost the match 1-2 to end their campaign with six defeats in six games. "At the start of our AFC Champions League Two match, FC Goa's players briefly paused active play for the opening seconds as a symbolic gesture to highlight the uncertainty currently affecting Indian football," the Goan club said on their 'X' page.

"This action was solely intended to draw attention to the broader challenges facing the domestic football ecosystem. It was not directed at our opponents FC Istiklol, the AFC, or the AFC Champions League Two, all of whom we respect greatly.

"The gesture carried no element of protest against the competition or its stakeholders and was made in good faith, without any intent to cause offence or disruption." Indian domestic football plunged into chaos after FSDL -- the organisers of the ISL -- informed the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in July that it was keeping the country's top-tier league on hold due to a lack of clarity over the renewal of the 15-year Master Rights Agreement (MRA) which ended on December 8.

Under the supervision of a Supreme Court-appointed committee, a tender was floated for ISL's commercial rights but there was no taker.

On December 20, a proposal from 10 ISL clubs for "perpetual" operational and commercial ownership of the country's top-tier competition failed to get the approval of the AIFF's General Body, which formed a committee to look into the matter.

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