Looking to justify its action before the national body could pronounce a
verdict on its decision to abandon the 10th round I-League match
against East Bengal, Mohun Bagan sent a letter to the All India Football
Federation saying it did everything keeping in mind the security of the
team.
The club on Tuesday sent newspaper and video clippings of the match in
support of its decision to quit midway after the first half’s action.
The club has urged the AIFF to hear it before taking any decision. The
AIFF is expected to take a decision before Bagan embarks on its 11th
round match against Pailan Arrows on Saturday.
In its letter addressed to the AIFF president Praful Patel, Mohun Bagan
pointed out that the club was forced to take the decision as the “law
and order situation was not favourable” for the team to continue playing
in the second half.
The AIFF is seeking legal opinion and having a close scrutiny of the
I-League tournament regulations to ensure whether Mohun Bagan’s claim of
imposing the “force-majeure”clause to bail itself out, would be applicable in this case.
The AIFF president, who is expected to take the final call on this
sensitive issue, has indicated that a decision will be taken only after
hearing every party involved with the match.
Bagan abandons match citing security concerns
A match between Indian football’s biggest rivals ended controversially
when the 10th round I-league encounter between East Bengal and Mohun
Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium was called off midway with the latter
pulling out in protest.
A missile from the stands, where almost 80,000 supporters had gathered
to watch the match, hit Mohun Bagan midfielder Syed Rahim Nabi on the
head causing a bleeding injury. Mohun Bagan cited security concerns and
refused to take the field after the break.
The side also submitted a letter detailing the reasons to the match
commissioner Gulab Singh Chauhan, who waited for the team to return
before announcing the abandonment.
East Bengal was leading by Harmanjot Khabra’s 42nd minute goal at the
end of the first session. Trouble started when the referee showed Mohun
Bagan striker Okolie Odafa the red card in the 44th minute for charging
at him and making threatening gestures.
Immediately after the red card, a missile from the stands hit Nabi, who
was given first aid at the ground and was rushed to a nearby hospital
for further treatment.
The player is reported to be stable and recovering. He is yet to be
released from the hospital, where his condition is being monitored.
The match was held up from almost 10 minutes after Nabi was injured.
The two teams then played the remaining few minutes of the first half.
Sunando Dhar, the I-League CEO present at the stadium, said that the
matter will be referred to the tournament committee which will study the
reports of the match officials and decide on the fate of the match.
The decision is likely to be taken before Mohun Bagan’s next round match.
Mr. Dhar said that he personally did not feel there was any “law and
order problem” which Mohun Bagan had cited as a reason for the injury to
its player and the subsequent pulling out.
Bagan face a two-year ban: AIFF
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is set to ban Mohun Bagan
for rest of the I-League this season and the next two years, a top AIFF
official informed. An official announcement in this regard is likely by
Saturday. Syed Rahim Nabi’s was hurt on Sunday by a stone thrown from
the terraces after fans reacted angrily following Bagan skipper Odafa
Okolie’s red card.
“The rule 22C clearly states that the minimum punishment for not
continuing with the game is a two-year ban. Regulations cannot be
changed, and if we do that we will set a bad precedent,” an AIFF office
bearer told The Indian Express.
“The report we have received from the match commissioner also
goes against them. Now they have to face the consequence,” he added.
The three-time champions may also have to pay a hefty fine should
the title sponsor of the tournament and TV rights holder demand
compensation from the Federation. East Bengal too are likely to be fined
for the crowd disorder as the Sunday’s derby was their home match.
Bagan officials, however, are still maintaining that they were
right in refusing to play the second half of the Sunday’s charged up
I-League encounter against East Bengal.
“We took the decision because the security of our players were
threatened. Team didn’t want to continue after Nabi was injured,”
Bagan’s finance secretary Debashis Dutta said.
‘Not decide in haste’
Meanwhile, AIFF president Praful Patel said the federation is not
going to take a final decision in a hurry. "We will not make a hasty
decision as there could be long-term implications. Whatever has
happened, will surely have a bad impact on football," Patel said.
“There will be proper hearing and we will try and get full
information from all possible quarters possible before arriving at a
decision. We will take police reports, our local sources' reports, media
coverage reports and will also talk to players, match commissioner and
the referees.
“But we can assure that we will not be bias towards anybody. We will look to take the right decision.”
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