Kolkata: The Kolkata derby in the U-18 I League between arch rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan turned violent due to crowd trouble on Thursday.The situation got so worse one time that police had to intervene. There were two stoppages in each halves as the police mounted on their horses rushed into the ground. Although there were no reports of injuries but the situation got out of control. The match though ended in 1-1 stalemate. East Bengal took the lead in the 22nd minute through Lalchawnhima while Deepak Tangri equalised for Mohun Bagan late into the second half.
There were tensions right from the start of the match as fans from both teams gathered to cheer their sides. East Bengal who had the better of the exchanges took the lead in the 22nd minute through Lalchawnhima.
The Red and Golds could have extended their lead as Mehtab Singh scored from a free-kick only to find his goal disallowed by the referee.The referee Ravindra Thapliyal took four long minutes to review the goal after initially allowing it, reasoning that the free kick which was awarded was hurriedly taken.This led to uproar among the East Bengal faithfuls in the stands.
Mounted police had to intervene to keep the situations under control as players from both teams were seen arguing with the referee over his decision.
Later the match commissioner Bikash Mukherjee said, “The goal was disallowed as the free-kick was taken before the referee blew the whistle.”
The second half saw the home team pressing for a equalizer. The Mohun Bagan colts eventually succeeded in leveling the score with a superb strike from Deepak Tangri in the 88th minute of the match. That had the Mohun Bagan supporters who were quite till that time celebrating.
The Green and Maroon fans rushed to the ground immediately after the final whistle. They were seen running towards the stands where the East Bengal fans were cheering. Noticing the situation going out of hands, the mounted police chased the Bagan fans back. East Bengal fans lead by Ultras in the meantime started pelting stones into the ground. They were also seen hurling torches into the ground.
No one was hurt as police brought things under control but the ugly scenes left a bad taste in the mouth especially with this being an age-group tie.
“Why did the referee take so long to disallow the goal? Our players started celebrating,” East Bengal coach Ranjan Chowdhury told mediapersons after the match.
Mohun Bagan counterpart and former India international Jo Paul Ancheri said, “We are happy with the result. I would not like to comment on the incident.”
This is not the first time that such an incident took place in a derby. Last season as well there were instances of crowd trouble in the U’18 derby.
The tension between the fans of these rival clubs has been on the rise since the formation of various fans forums and groups who are always at each other on the social platform. These young group of boys looks to be out of control. They are constantly at war with each other on the social forum, using slang languages. The rivalry is transpiring on to the ground.
Very recently a East Bengal fan got arrested after using derogative remarks aimed at the Mohun Bagan officials on facebook.
Normally there is less police deployed for these age group matches. These so called groups and fans forums are taking advantage of the situation and creating trouble at the ground. If the situation goes on like this, they could soon invite another August 16.
The clubs need to act strongly before it gets too late. The Government also needs to interfere to keep the situations under control.