FIFA ban on India will be catastrophic: Sunil Chhetri on how it can affect Indian football
- It will be catastrophic, not just for the whole country but for me, because I'm 37. I'm playing my last games. You never know when there's a last game for you, Sunil Chhetri said
FIFA ban on India in the aftermath of Supreme Court's ruling to oust Praful Patel as AIFF president would be catastrophic, Indian striker Sunil Chhetri said on Friday. He also dropped a hint regarding his retirement saying he is playing his "last games".
"No matter what is happening on that front, I hope it is under control and the country does not get a ban," the iconic India captain said, adding, “Because, that will be catastrophic, not just for the whole country but for me, because I'm 37. I'm playing my last games. You never know when there's a last game for you.”
"So yes... I was scared when the headlines came, it affects you. But with my limited knowledge, when you go into it, you understand that it is not that dangerous and things will subside," Chhetri added.
Patel was thrown out of office by the Supreme Court in a May 18 ruling as he has exceeded his tenure as All India Football Federation President. His third term in office was to end in December 2020 but he clung on to a SC case, which remained pending since 2017, to extend his executive committee's term while refusing to hold elections till the issue of a new constitution was settled by the top court.
There were speculation that the SC ruling could lead to FIFA imposing a ban on India. A ban can lead to the country being stripped of its rights to hold Under-17 Women’s World Cup in October.
Is Sunil Chhetri retiring?
The 37-year-old Chhetri's retirement has been a matter of speculation for some time now and he has said on many occasions that his illustrious career will come to an end soon.
'Can't give you a number about my retirement'
Answing the questions about his retirement, he “Same question was asked before the last Asia Cup (2019) that 'what next' and I said the same thing. Five years have passed. It's the same now. I was 32 then, now I'm 37-38. I don't know, maybe.”
"Right now, I'm enjoying it. I enjoy sprinting with Udanta (Singh), enjoying headers with (Sandesh) Jhingan, and scoring against Gurpreet. The day I don't (enjoy), I'll be done, I can't give you a number when.
"It's not easy to get up at 6 o'clock everyday or do a 30-minute yoga session before everyone wakes up. It's a very, very strict life that I live. It's not easy to do it for 21 years."
Chhetri made his international comeback after more than six months of injury lay-off during India's 0-2 defeat against Jordan in Doha on May 29, their last preparatory outing ahead of the Asian Cup Qualifiers.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaFIFA ban on India will be catastrophic: Sunil Chhetri on how it can affect Indian football
First Published:3 Jun 2022, 07:30 PM IST
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