Bengaluru, September 20: Anas Edathodika feels the three-match ban handed to him, which will see him miss Kerala Blasters' opening fixture against ATK, over an incident from the Super Cup is unjust.

Anas hijacked the 'media day' interactions of the Indian Super League in Bengaluru to plead his case, saying he is being punished for no fault of his.

Back in April, during the Super Cup quarterfinal between FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC, Anas, representing JFC back then, was one among the six players sent off from the game for a half-time scuffle in the tunnel. For Jamshedpur, Anas, goalkeeper Subrata Paul and striker Kervens Belfort were given the marching orders. Brandon Fernandes, who had scored a controversial goal leading to the melee, was sent off along with FC Goa's Bruno Pinheiro and Sergio Marin. The second half was an eight-a-side contest, which FC Goa eventually won 5-1.

The fight between @JamshedpurFC vs @FCGoaOfficial resulted in eight a side second half match in the third quarterfinal match of the #HeroSuperCup at Kalinga Stadium @dsys_odisha @rvineel_krishna @IndianFootball @NewIndianXpress @Odishasports pic.twitter.com/taALxXadlE

— Tanmay Das (@Daspioneer) April 12, 2018

A week before the next season of the ISL kicks off, Anas told reporters the three-game ban and the fine of Rs 1 lakh is unreasonable. The All India Football Federation's Disciplinary Committee handed out the ban on April 14, two days after the FC Goa vs Jamshedpur FC game.

"Suppose there is a fight on the streets and the police cannot find the culprits, they catch the bystander, take his pictures and blame him for causing the fight," Anas said on Thursday (September 20). "That's kind of what happened with me. If you see the video, everything will be clear. I might have pulled someone back but I didn't have the intentions of hitting someone (as has been alleged against me).

"I have been playing for many years and I do a lot of hard work. They have banned me for three matches. I feel bad that I have been banned for something I have not done."
Anas explained his side of the story saying he was reacting to Paul being disrespected by the Goan players. "Subrata Paul is the senior-most player at Jamshedpur. I respect my peers a lot and some youngsters from the opposition team pointed fingers at Paul (at half-time). I told them that you shouldn't behave this way with Pal. And that's what happened. Even FC Goa coach Derrick Pereira knows I have done nothing. But among the six people, I am the only one who has been fined Rs 1 lakh."

We've got a new sniper in town and @jejefanai approves 🎯✔😎#HeroISLMediaDay #LetsFootball @anasedathodika pic.twitter.com/LxXOgdSTFu

— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) September 20, 2018

Anas rues that he will miss Blasters' opening game against ATK on September 29. The Kolkatan outfit is now helmed by his former coach at JFC Steve Coppell. The 29-year-old defender will also miss the games against Mumbai City FC and Delhi Dynamos on Oct 5 and Oct 20 respectively.

"Three-match ban is too much for a player," Anas added. "I did not get a chance to explain anything. I was told that there has been a disciplinary action taken against you and you have to pay Rs 1 lakh as fine. There might be a problem for talking about this to the media but it does not matter to me. It doesn't make a difference to me if I am suspended from the national team because I am being honest anyway."

There was no initial response from the All India Football Federation after Anas' comments.