Che, the football team mascot, gets a red card in Kerala

Saturday 27 August 2016 02:03 PM IST

by Our Correspondent

Text Size

A child wearing a jersey showing Che Guevara's picture.

Irinjalakuda: Che Guevara’s iconic picture may be tattooed on football legend Diego Maradona’s right arm. The Argentinian revolutionary’s picture on a school team’s jerseys, however, has raised hackles in Irinjalakuda in Kerala.

Members of the HDP Samajam Higher Secondary School’s football team lined up in jerseys which were emblazoned with a red Che image for an inter-school tournament held in Christ College, Irinjalakuda. Local leaders of the Congress and the BJP were quick to raise a red flag.

The management and teachers of the school at Edathirinji were using the students to further their political agenda, Congress’s Padiyur mandalam committee alleged. Committee president Rishipal K Prabhakaran said the party would bring up the issue with the District Educational Officer and the Assistant Educational Officer and organize protests in case the officials fail to act against the “offenders”.

The BJP took their objection a step further. The party’s panchayat committee organized a protest march to the school compound. The Che image on jerseys was an instance of politicizing the school sports arena, party’s mandalam secretary Binoy Kolanthra said.

The school management, meanwhile, washed its hands off the controversial jerseys. Manager Bharathan Kandekkatt said he will ask for an explanation from the principal, head teacher and sports teacher. The management had nothing to do with the image and it will probe the involvement of outsiders, he said.

Perhaps the team should have opted for the other Argentine as their mascot.

Your Rating:

Tags: Ernesto Che Guevara Irinjalakuda

Actual View