Kerala football legend IM Vijayan goes to ATK for tickets to ISL final in Kochi

The state’s most famous footballer got tickets from the visiting side Atletico de Kolkata for Kerala Blasters ISL 2016 final.

‘Yellow mein khelo’ (Play in yellow) may be a statement of intent for Kerala in general and Kochi in particular on Sunday but IM Vijayan, the state’s most famous footballer, is having none of it. (Live scorecard)

IM Vijayan (centre) was a prolific striker for the Indian national team in the late nineties and early 2000s. (Prateek Choudhury/HT File)

Along with former East Bengal defender M Suresh, Vijayan was at the Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) team hotel on match day morning and got tickets from the visiting side. “Vijayan said he would be supporting us,” said Subrata Talukdar, CEO Atletico de Kolkata.

A report from the Indo-Asian News Service quoted Vijayan, 47, as saying he was given only two ordinary tickets by the organisers. “I shudder to think what the ordinary people will get,” he was quoted as saying.

Tickets for the final were sold out within hours of them being released and over the past two days, requests for an entry to the stadium on Sunday evening, free or paid, have dominated conversations here. There have been reports of scalpers doing brisk business in the grey market.

“I have been told that tickets for R 300 are being sold for R 1500 and those of R 500 for R 3000,” said Babu Mather, who is the vice-chairman of the All India Football Federation’s Disciplinary Committee.

“I am told that lots of tickets are being sold in the black market,” said Vijayan, thrice adjudged India’s best footballer.