During the first ever Santosh Trophy Football Tournament held in Madras where Goa participated
following its annexation by Bharat, the president of GFA Dr. Gustavo
Monteiro accompanying the Goan squad noticed how the top brass of Indian
football administration were jealous of high standard of Goan soccer. Dr. Monteiro then said that the
administrators of Indian soccer will never allow Goan soccer to reach to the
pedestal because they were jealous to see Goa making so big strides in soccer
when it is so small in size.
Once in Bombay in 1968, the Goan Olympian soccer wizard Neville D’Souza
came to visit us, Sesa Goa, in our
dressing room at Cooperage and whispered in my ears saying “to control my game, don’t allow your opponent, meaning
the Referee, to castigate you unnecessarily because they all are
anti-Goan.
Being small Goa produced big footballers that sent chills in the marrow
of the opponents from beyond Goan borders. In Benzinho of Railways and Pompei
of Salgaocar, Goa produced finest custodians; in Domnick of Vasco Goa produced the best
dribbler; in Menino Figueredo of Salgaocar Goa produced the mightiest deep
defender and in Keshav of Vasco, Goa produced the most perfect midfield
maestro; such football stalwarts I have
never seen anywhere at anytime in India
and with the exception of Domnick, all were linked with the high
standard of Portuguese soccer in Goa.
The punishment to FC Goa is too extreme, it is not punishment but gallows. FC Goa if possible must put this matter into
the hands of FIFA for redressal otherwise, FC Goa must accept this harsh
verdict and appeal to global Goans to to help collect money to pay the fine but never
give up.
A.Veronica Fernandes,
Candolim, Goa.
Tel:7507394349.
