Gurpreet Singh Sandhu becomes latest top star to speak out on rising 'sexual misconduct' in Indian women's football
India men's national team star, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu became the latest footballer to speak out against the ongoing sexual misconduct saga in the Under-17 setup of Indian football that has rocked the country in the recent past.
The touring U-17 Indian team which is playing Europe was rocked by a shocking incident when assistant coach Alex Ambrose was called back from the tour on the charge of misconduct and later sacked.
India international, Suresh Singh Wangjam had on Wednesday taken to social networking site, Twitter to open up on the "sexual misconduct" episode - claiming that the incident is "very disturbing" and that the guilty should be punished "harshly".
The incident of sexual misconduct surrounding the Girls U17 team is very disturbing.I hope that a thorough investigation is carried out and the guilty are punished harshly. Women's football has been on the rise, and we have to do everything to encourage it.
— Suresh Wangjam (@SureshWangjam) July 5, 2022
“The incident of sexual misconduct surrounding the Girls U17 team is very disturbing. I hope that a thorough investigation is carried out and the guilty are punished harshly. Women’s football has been on the rise, and we have to do everything to encourage it,” he wrote on Twitter.
“How will parents allow their daughters to pursue football professionally when there is no system for their safety? We should do more,” Suresh added.
Sandhu, who is widely considered as one of the best goalkeepers to come from India, added his voice to the ongoing saga, tweeting about the same issue saying, "It is our responsibility to make sure that we protect everyone with the sport we love so much."
I've always tried to do my bit to advocate the push for women's football in the country. But the alleged incident/s from the past week is are a reminder that I, and all of us, need to do more. Sexual misdemeanours should have no place in society, let alone football.
— Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (@GurpreetGK) July 5, 2022
Wangjam and Sandhu remain the only top two stars who have so far spoken about the "sexual misconduct" issue and it will be interesting to see what changes this brings in the administration of women's football in the country.