Blame it on Blumer: new video indicates Elano was framed by FC Goa owners in ISL final "assault" scandal

A NEWLY RELEASED video clip has turned the controversy around the ISL 2015 final - which saw former Brazil and Chennaiyin FC player Elano dragged to the police station over his alleged attack on FC Goa co-owner Dattaraj Salgaocar - on its head.

The video clip, released by NDTV, shows that Elano did not in fact attack the FC Goa co-owner. After Chennaiyin FC beat Goa in a nail-biting finish at the ISL final, Elano had approached the FC Goa dug-out calmly, and talked to their head coach Zico. After that he walked up to others, including the FC Goa co-owners, with what appeared to be an intention to shake their hands in a sportsmanlike manner.

This, it appears, did not go down well with the FC Goa bunch. Suddenly they flocked all over Elano, pushing him aggressively. It was the Brazilian world cup winner who could have been seriously assaulted had he not been dragged away from there by one of the organizers. The former Manchester City and Galatasaray attacking medio appeared more surprised than anything by this episode.

But the FC Goa co-owners had not calmed down. They were animated in anger and one of them was already on his phone, making a call somewhere. The whole FC Goa team left the pitch after this incident, and boycotted the prize distribution (for which they were fined Rs 50 lakhs by the AIFF disciplinary committee). 

But the whole episode took an ugly turn when Elano was apprehended and taken to the Madgaon police station soon after the incident, and charged with assault. He left soon afterwards and is unlikely to return for another stint at ISL. 

The video shows a story entirely different than the established narrative, which alleged that Elano had punched Dattaraj Salgaocar in the face. Why this video was not produced before the AIFF Disciplinary Committee when they were looking into this matter, and how it got leaked to the media more than four months after the incident took place. But the whole episode paints an ugly picture of the collusion of the powerful on multiple levels that led to an atrocious instance of corruption that targeted a sportsman who is well respected througout the footballing world.