DOHA (Qatar): Indian Super League club (ISL) Bengaluru FC returned to India on Monday evening from Maldives after the postponement of its AFC Cup playoff match against Eagles FC following a violation of COVID-19 protocols by three members of the visiting team.
The team boarded a flight from Male and landed in Bengaluru around 8.30pm local time, following which all the players and support staff went into a mandatory quarantine in line with the standard protocols.
“Participating clubs who have travelled to Maldives for both the Group and Playoff Stages will be required to arrange for their return home while adhering to the COVID-19 health and travel protocols put in place by the country. At the same time, the AFC is in contact with all other Participating clubs and officials who have not entered the Maldives to cancel their travel arrangements,” the AFC said on Monday.
The postponement came after the host country’s sports minister Ahmed Mahloof asked the ISL side to leave, citing breach of COVID-19 protocols, a sentiment echoed by club owner Parth Jindal.
“Bengaluru FC’s 2021 AFC Cup playoff stage clash against Eagles FC has been postponed until further notice, as confirmed by the Asian Football Confederation on Sunday. The club is making all arrangements to get all its players and staff home at the earliest,” BFC had said in a statement.
