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.