Sunil Chhetri's wife Sonam responds to hate comments

After that fateful night at the Sree Kanteerava stadium in Bangalore when Sunil Chhetri netted the controversial goal against Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League Knockout match, the Bengaluru FC skipper's social media posts were inundated with hate comments.

Things turned worse when his better half Sonam Bhattacharya was on the receiving end of such treatment. In the late hours of Wednesday night, Sonam took to her Instagram to respond to the hate and unkind words which have been hurled at Sunil and her.

"In the midst of football, rivalry, passion and support, how did we forget to be kind to, and civil with each other?" her post began.

"I sincerely hope that you left behind all your hate, toxic thoughts and frustration on social media, and are at home in peace around loved ones. I hope you got what you wanted by abusing and threatening the family," it continued.

Mind you, Sonam is no stranger to how high passions can run in this sport. She's daughter to one of the Indian greats of the sport in Subrata Bhattacharya and hence is well attuned to the banter and rivalry between fans, much before she got hitched to Chhetri.

Nonetheless, what starts off as banter and rivalry can soo turn into abuse and uncalled toxicity, which it did in this situation. Effigies of Sunil were seen getting burned in Kerala after the match. However, Sonam's opinion of 'God's own country' hasn't changed.

"Kerala is a beautiful state with warm and welcoming people, so no amount of hate will change my perception," her post read.

At the end of the message, she urges everyone to keep kindness above all, especially after the final whistle. "For all the emotions that football brings - once the final whistle is blown, let's keep kindness on top of that list," it concluded.

Bengaluru FC and Chhetri will be in action again on Sunday night with a 1-0 advantage against Mumbai City FC when they face each other in the second-leg of the semi-final.