Kalyan Chaubey Hits Back At Mamata Banerjee Govt. After Cops Detain Mohun Bagan And East Bengal Fans

The eternal rivals East Bengal FC and Mohun Bagan SG were supposed to face off in the first Kolkata derby of the season on Sunday, August 18, 2024. However, on account of the disturbance that has gripped Kolkata, the Durand Cup match got cancelled. The call was taken by the West Bengal government considering the security concerns that came into existence following the propelling of the protests in the state.

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Kalyan Chaubey Expresses Anger Over the Cancelling of Kolkata Derby

All India Football Federation (AIFF) president, Kalyan Chaubey has said that the match should not have been cancelled and should have been held in Kolkata despite the protests going on. According to Chaubey, Football has got nothing to do with politics and expressed angst by stating that the Police personnel who were deployed to stop the match should rather have been used to oversee the seamless functioning of the match.

"The first derby match of the season between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan was scheduled to be held today and the number of police personnel that has been deployed here to stop this match and to arrest the supporters who had come to watch the match, if even half of them were deployed then this match would have taken place today," said Chaubey.

"East Bengal, Mohun Bagan matches should be held here. I believe that football is not involved in any politics, it is above all religion, caste. I am fully confident that if you organize the match here, there will be no ruckus, no unrest in the football ground, I am fully confident that all the people will support their teams peacefully but the match should not be shifted from here," said Chaubey.

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Kalyan Chaubey Met Angry Fans

Supporters of arch-rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan gathered near the Salt Lake stadium, the venue of the cancelled Kolkata Derby, on Sunday evening in a rare show of camaraderie to protest the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Over a hundred supporters of the two clubs initially gathered outside the stadium with placards and posters even as a Durand Cup match between the two most-followed football clubs of the country was cancelled with police citing concerns over the law and order situation.

Supporters of the two clubs held each other's flags and raised slogans demanding justice for the victim's family, with a huge contingent of the police keeping a vigil on the situation. Supporters of the Mohammedan SC, another major football club, also joined the protests a while later.

Actor Usashi Chakraborty and theatre personality Sourav Palodhi were among the protesters wearing the jerseys of the clubs they support.

As the protests spilled onto the busy EM Bypass and blocked the traffic, police chased the agitators with canes in hand in a high-voltage drama and detained some of them. Even though the police were somewhat successful in breaking the gathering at first, the protesters regrouped in small numbers and continued raising slogans.

All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey also reached the site a while later and met the angry fans of the these clubs.

(With inputs from PTI)