When the Indian Super League was launched, it was said that the new tournament will increase the quality of football in India and help the sport on a grassroot level. The development of the sport is a huge factor as a vast number of people earn their livelihood through the sport. However, a sad scene unfolded during Hyderabad FC’s match against FC Goa at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad.
Hyderabad FC staffs, wearing the club’s jersey were present at the stands. They displayed a banner demanding their overdue salaries from the team management.
Instead of taking care of their woes, the team management decided the easier path to take would be ask the people displaying the banner leave. The staffs were forced out of the stadium by security personnel, without being provided any solution. The security personnel were seen packing the banner and forcing the protesting crowd out of the stadium.
This is not the first time the club has got in trouble with salary problems. Hyderabad FC foreigner Petteri Pennanen had left the club in December last year, citing unpaid salary as the primary reason.
In a country where football is so popular, if a premier club such as Hyderabad FC cannot pay the salaries of their staffs, it is hard to imagine what the staffs working at clubs in the lower leagues must be facing.