'No grudges' after feisty final

Abahani's Federation Cup hero Sunday Chizoba could not celebrate the final victory over Bashundhara Kings on the field, but he said he harbours no grudges against the opposition's defender Nasir Chowdhury for a malicious challenge that led to the forward's injury towards the end of the high-octane match on Friday.

The Nigerian was adjudged the most valuable player of the tournament and also finished as the top scorer with six goals, including the two he scored as Abahani fought back from a goal down to beat Bashundhara Kings 3-1.

However, he only came to know about the awards and the title quite a few hours later as he was knocked unconscious following an elbow from Nasir and the subsequent knock on his head as he fell to the ground.

"I don't remember what happened from the time between the injury and later in the night. I woke up in the hospital bed, without my jersey, shoes and all. I was relieved to find out I was alive," the 29-year-old striker said as he relived the incident at the club tent yesterday, still dizzy from the after-effects of the injury.

The Nigerian, who has been plying his trade in Bangladesh football for the last eight years but only tasted success since moving to Abahani in the 2015-16 season, said he holds no grudges against his former teammate.

"What happened on the pitch is [in the] past. We were teammates before and we know each other well," Sunday said. "Maybe he [Nasir] was mad that I scored goals against his team and that we were winning."

The malicious foul on Sunday only sparked a bigger brawl minutes later as players of the two teams engaged in an ugly scuffle on the pitch, resulting in two players of each side being sent off. Abahani's Nabib Newaz Jibon and Mamun Mia and Bashundhara Kings' Shushanto Tripura and Tawhidul Alam Sabuj -- all national team players -- were guilty of assaulting opposition players and were duly punished.

However, players and officials of both sides tried to downplay the incident by saying things 'happened on the spur of the moment'.

"It was an unexpected incident. But things like these can happen when the stakes are high; you don't quite remember whether you are a junior or a senior in the side. That doesn't mean we take things outside the pitch," explained Abahani midfielder Sohel Rana, who was named the player of the final.

Although the scenes at the Bangabandhu National Stadium during that melee resembled nothing short of a brawl, team officials and coaches tried to defuse the tension by restraining the agitated players and stopped the situation from descending into further chaos. Bashundhara Kings, the big-spending newcomers, even went out of their way to send a couple of their officials to the Abahani club yesterday to congratulate the Sky Blues with flower bouquets and sweetmeats.

"I played for Abahani at the start of my football career four decades ago. I know the culture and tradition of this club very well and I am very close to the club officials," BA Jubaer Nipu, currently working as Bashundhara Kings' technical director, said while congratulating the Abahani team at the club tent.

"Our club also believes in friendly rivalry. Our club president did not like the things that happened on the pitch. This is a gesture from the club as we bid to initiate a culture of cordiality among the competing clubs, the Bashundhara Kings' representative added.

While it is quite refreshing to see that the animosity and ill-feeling stemming from that incident was set aside so quickly, it remains to be seen what action the game's local governing body takes regarding the players involved in the brawl. Unless there are some punitive measures taken, it will not be a surprise to witness similar scenes when these two title contenders meet again in the upcoming Independence Cup and the Bangladesh Premier League.