India men's football team coach Khalid Jamil and some players were denied entry to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi for a press conference on Thursday due to a non-payment of a mandatory security deposit by the Kerala Football Association.
The players and Jamil arrived on time for the media interaction ahead of the Blue Tigers' final AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture against Hong Kong on March 31, but were then denied entry inside the venue due to the ongoing dispute over the unpaid amount between the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and the Kerala Football Association.
The press conference had to be called off, but the upcoming game will proceed as the money is set to be deposited three days before the game.
The head coach, Jamil, was accompanied by homegrown players Ashique Kuruniyan, Sahal Abdul Samad, and Bijoy Varghese.
According to the Asian Football Confederation's rules, a stadium must be booked for 4 days for an AFC game.
