Pal alleges of ‘betting’ in BSL; Shocked Shrachi Sports asks how ‘law of land’ can be violated?
Sudeep Pakrashi: Sourav Pal, one of the IFA vice-presidents, has again been accused of ‘betting’ in the ongoing Bengal Super League (BSL). The key reason behind his allegation is the presence of Dafa News, which runs online betting operations as one of Asia’s leading betting companies. Pal, when asked to clarify his allegations, commented, “Dafa News is directly linked with betting, and as they are one of the brands in the ongoing BSL, match-fixing in the League is taking place.” Pal cited another example, adding, “Is it not ridiculous that after each and every League match, a penalty shoot-out takes place? Why? What is its purpose? Everything related to match-fixing!” The IFA vice-president added, “Swarup Biswas, also the vice-president, and I have both submitted protest letters to the IFA in its last Finance-Committee meeting as well as in the Governing-Body meeting, raising voices against Dafa’s presence in the League. Even Arup Biswas, the state’s last sports minister, asserted that BSL will not get the stadiums and grounds for the matches if Dafa is there.” However, Tomal Ghosal, Chairman, Shrachi Sports, when contacted for his reaction, told Parallel Sports, “First of all, betting is banned in India. So, how can the ‘law of land’ be violated? Then how does the question of match-fixing come? Secondly, the penalty shoot-out, which is being held after the end of each match, has been developed as purely a separate competition to attract viewers. It is not at all related to the results of respective matches. Thirdly, Dafa’s presence is not only here in this League, India’s one of the premier sports competitions, but Hockey India League (HIL) also has Dafa as one of its brands! It was also in the recently-concluded Kerala Pro-League.” Ghosal added, “We are upset with the allegations. Do these people who are making false allegations know that how many young footballers, debutant in the BSL, have drawn attention of the country’s several leading coaches and scouts? Do these people know that how many ISL and I-League clubs have shown curiousness on the emerging talents of BSL already? I am sure IFA is also shocked at the allegations. Isn’t it true that BSL has created the platform for those who were not at all getting the desired exposure to show their mettle?”
