I-League: Media boycotts Minerva Punjab FC's press conference

Panchkula: A handful of scribes from Chandigarh on Monday boycotted Minerva Punjab's post-match press conference, protesting the I-League team management's move to ban a correspondent from covering the pre-game address briefing due to "provocative" reportage.

The club on Sunday issued a gag order that prevented the said reporter from attending the pre-match conference on the eve of the club's crucial match against reigning champions Aizawl FC.

Minerva Punjab won the game 2-0 and jumped to the top of the standings with 32 points from 16 outings, leapfrogging challengers Neroca FC and East Bengal.

Minerva Punjab management was apparently upset with a news report published on February 21, which highlighted how a man armed with a gun had roamed around the stadium premises on February 20 during a match between Minerva and Gokulam Kerala FC at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium.

The gun-toting man turned out to be a personal security officer of one of the directors of the club and the act was in violation of FIFA rules.

An official of the All India Football Federation said the match commissioner of the said game has already taken up the matter with the AIFF.