Molestation charges against players a publicity stunt: Churchill coach

Dismissing molestation charges against his wards as a publicity stunt, Churchill Brothers coach Carlos Pereira on Wednesday insisted that his wards are innocent.

Skipper Odafe Okolie (25), Ogba Kalu (20) and Arindam Bhattacharya (20) were arrested and later released for allegedly misbehaving with the female crew of an airline on Tuesday.

"Churchill Brothers and Odafa are big names in Indian football. It's without doubt that they have done this to have some publicity. The air hostess is blatantly lying," Pereira said after the team checked into a hotel in Kolkata.

Pereira also said that the Goan football club's patron Joaquim Alemao has decided to file a defamation suit against the airlines.

"We are going to file a case for damaging our reputation.

"We want them to apologise," Pereira said.