Indian football's Twin Towers (yes, that's a stretched metaphor) - the Indian Super League (ISL) and the I-League - share little. Not finances, not publicity, not quality of television pictures and from this season onwards, not even players. Except 2017-18 has them in total sync, with vociferous certainty, about one part of their business - Indian referees.

In the ISL, coaches of two teams and an assistant coach have been banned for matches and hit with six-figure fines for criticising referees...

There's a scene in the movie 'Captain', a freshly-minted Malayalam biopic on former India defender VP Sathyan, which tries to capture the conflict raging in the injured footballer's mind, between giving up one match and the longevity of his limbs.

The camera is focused on the protagonist from an immobile ceiling fan above as he painfully straddles a football between his feet, one of them wrapped in a bandage, and tosses it against the switchboard to turn it on. It's also meant to be symbolic of...

Sunil Chhetri limps as he walks through the mixed zone at the Kanteerava Stadium, having given the Indian Super League (ISL) broadcasters an interview after leading Bengaluru FC to the playoffs in their maiden season.

He reveals it happened because of a stomp on his foot - a tiny but visible mark on his left leg validates this - and only started hurting once substituted. After answering a few questions on his club, there's a twinkle in his eye as he cuts short a query about how critical the next...

Bengaluru FC (BFC) have decided to go ahead with their trip to Maldives for their AFC Cup playoff first leg match against TC Sports Club on February 13 despite the unrest reportedly prevailing in parts of the country. Media reports had emerged on Sunday morning of the Ministry of External Affairs advising BFC to defer their travel to Male for the match, in keeping with a February 5 advisory that asked Indian nationals to "defer all non-essential travels to Male and other atolls under further notice".

However,...