SAFF Championship win celebrations by India's Jeakson Singh on Tuesday night created uproar, when he was seen with the Meitei community flag wrapped over his jersey.
He told ESPN after the final, 'I just wanted to tell everyone in India and Manipur to stay in peace and not fight. I want peace.'
However, the act didn't go down well with some of the fans and Jeakson had to issue a clarification later on.
An Instagram post by him read, 'Dear Fans, By celebrating in the flag, I did not want to hurt the sentiments of anyone. I intended to bring notice to the issues that my home state, Manipur, is facing currently. This win tonight is dedicated to all the Indians.'
More than 120 people have lost their lives in clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities. The clashes first broke out on May 3 after a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the state's hill districts to protest the Meitei community's demand for ST status.