East Bengal Protest Against AIFF’s Decision to Suspend I-League 2019-20, Say ‘It Feels Like a Dictatorship’
‘Firstly, I would like to congratulate Mohun Bagan for winning the I-League. However, you know that FIFA said that the league could be extended if needed.' said East Bengal chief Debabrata Sarkar was quoted by Sportstar.. ‘We have been deprived of a chance of finishing second. We protest the AIFF's decision and it hasn’t worked well for us.' he added.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought the sporting world to a halt with several competitions being either suspended or cancelled completely. Due to the rise of positive cases in India, the nationwide lockdown in the country was extender from April 14 to May 3, 2020. After this decision, All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) announced the decision to cancel the remaining matches in the I-League and declared Mohun Bagan as the 2019-20 champions. But rivals East Bengal are not happy with this decision and decided to protest against it. East Bengal Chief Debabrata Sarkar Drops Major Hint on Potential ISL Switch.
Mohun Bagan clinched their first title since the 2014-15 season after defeating Aizwal FC and gaining an unassailable lead in the competitions. With four matches to go, the Maroons had recorded 39 points from 16 games. Mohun Bagan Named I-League 2019-20 Champions, Maroons Thank AIFF Committee for Showing Sportsman Spirit.
‘Firstly, I would like to congratulate Mohun Bagan for winning the I-League. However, you know that FIFA said that the league could be extended if needed. It did not say anything about paying the players extra or about a contract extension. So I am not sure why this wasn’t done (league extension),’ East Bengal chief Debabrata Sarkar was quoted by Sportstar.
East Bengal were second in the points table, 16 points behind Mohun Bagan before the league's cancellation. The side were involved in a three-way tie along with Minerva Punjab and Real Kashmir for the second-placed and feel that the suspension decision has gone against them.
‘We have been deprived of a chance of finishing second. We protest the AIFF's decision and it hasn’t worked well for us. This has happened earlier too, many decisions have gone against us. It feels like a dictatorship. We will discuss over the next three days and see if we want to take this forward,’ Debabrata added.
Though the remaining 28 league matches were cancelled, it will be a huge relief for clubs such as Churchill Brothers, NEROCA FC and Aizwal FC as there will be no relegation this season.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2020 04:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).