Thanks to the reports and TV visuals of the alleged molestation of an air-hostess by Okolie Odafe and two other footballers, there is a buzz around Indian football. From Tuesday (Jan 5) till Wed (Jan 6), TV channels and newspapers have indulged themselves in scooping gossipy stories around Churchill Brothers' three footballers who were arrested at Mumbai airport on their way to Kolkata for the I-League match.
Nobody knows the truth. Odafe says he is innocent and was seen requesting the TV anchor to get his camera from Goa which the Nigerian claims has visuals of the entire incident. But first and foremost, was there any need to highlight the entire incident? Are these footballers did what former Haryana DIG SP Rathore did years ago? Are we not exaggerating the entire episode?
The truth is not yet out. So why put these footballers on the gallows. Particularly, Arindam Bhattacharya who seems to be so promising. I'm sure it would have an adverse effect on his career. Last month in Dhaka, Arindam single-handedly won the SAFF Cup for India in the final when he saved three penalties in the tie-breaker against Maldives. Did anybody notice his agility under the Indian goal? Did the media bother to interview him? Did that TV anchor, who I'm sure may not care about Indian football and footballers, profile this young goalkeeper? He didn't. Neither the newspapers wrote any parody on the Indian footballers.
After all, gossips keep us happy. I'm sure everybody derive a strange pleasure from gossips. And media blows it up. It is some kind of a masala for them. Why don't we keep these incidents a little low?
Just two days back in Guwahati, a young and upstart football team fought bravely before going down in the Fed Cup final against East Bengal. But nobody took any interest in Lajong or in East Bengal. Even during the Nehru Cup final last year, journos were more interested in Salman Khan, who was present at Ambedkar Stadium as Indian football's brand ambassador, and didn't bother about an Indian victory.
Let's accept it. We are pretenders. We don't care about any achievement. We stay awake for gossipy, raunchy news items. If that is the case, then why the media stayed quiet during all these years even after a young girl had committed suicide in Panchkula in 1993? Why are they now gunning for Rathore who should have been put behind bars long time back?
As far as these footballers are concerned, it is too early to comment on their unruly behaviour. No doubt, it was an unfortunate incident which may have tarnished even the image of the club (the sponsors have already decided to pull out). But it was too early to blow things out of proportion.
Let's wait, till the verdict is out.
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