Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
Related Articles
Kolkata giants East Bengal Club celebrated their 101st birthday on Sunday, August 1 but these aren’t good times for the club and its fans, not only due to the pandemic which has kept the fans away from the team and club, but the whole mismanagement of affairs of the club.
And then there were the incidences on July 21, 2021 will be remembered as one of the saddest day’s in the long and illustrious history of East Bengal Club.
I have taken my time to write this piece, not to be led by emotions but put the facts together and present them to you, for you to decide, what you think is right or wrong.
The Kolkata Maidan’s saw that day a planned and announced protest of major fan groups like East Bengal – The Real Power, East Bengal Ultras and others, who only wanted to protest about one thing that the club should play football but in the process they also questioned the club officials about their track record over the last decade or so and for delaying the signing of the joint venture agreement with investors Shree Cement.
And what unfolded that day is not acceptable to an institution like East Bengal Club, which is about sports especially our beloved football.
The attack on journalist Shibam Das (The Independent Bengal)
Things unfolded that day with an attack on journalist Shibam Das (The Independent Bengal) by goons. And sorry I can’t call such people football fans or supporters, who attack a reporter like that. The press, if their reporting is right or wrong, has the duty to report and on that way Shibam was doing just that.
What makes things worse is the fact that my friend Shibam Das is a person who has worked for the club numerous years, who is a fan of the club and has a soft spot for East Bengal but he was doing his job of reporting live from the protest and counter-protest, trying to get different options on the matters surrounding the club, which a certain section of people did not want to happen.
The damage to the car of East Bengal – The Real Power president Rabi Shankar Sen
Then there was another incidence, the damage to the car of East Bengal – The Real Power president Rabi Shankar Sen, which is just unacceptable.
Rabi Shankar Sen has been a dedicated supporter of East Bengal Club for many decades and has been doing a commendable job in leading one of the red and gold fan groups, who not only support the club, but try and be much more.
He was one of the leading persons of the protests, some would say, one of the faces of the protest, who later on was even arrested by the police.
A fan of the football club, asking questions with other fans in a protest about the future of the club, doesn’t he, don’t they deserve better?
Why did the police arrest protesters? Why were fans lathi-charged?
And this brings me to a disturbing reality of policing at football games in Kolkata. It often looks to me that the police don’t really want to be there to control the crowds and fans, if things don’t go their way, lathi-charging at fans is a sad but common sight. On this day, there is enough TV and social media footage available to prove, the lathi-charge and later arrest of fans could have been avoided, but all this sadly happened in the name of keeping control of the situation.
Minor injuries were reported, luckily no one as per my information was seriously injured.
Who is accountable for these events?
This brings me to the next question of, who is accountable for these events?
If anyone it should be East Bengal Club, then all these people were and are fans of the club, but the club officials only distanced themselves from these protests against their actions or rather in-actions.
Accountability is something which is sadly not there, while moral responsibility should have been taken by the gentlemen of the executive committee, then they caused all of this mayhem, but would they resign and allow a reboot of the club? As we have seen over the last couple of weeks, they did not even consider such a move.
I feel an interim body could handle the affairs of the club, to bring everyone together and on one page as its future is in danger.
Is there a way out?
In the end from what I have gathered and read of the joint venture agreement with Shree Cement, it is a document which in its current form should not be signed by the club because the club sells it soul to an entity which has shown that they don’t really understand football. Then there is politics, which is another added problem in this deal.
It seems last years term sheet by Shree Cement was the only way out of the mess of 2020 to enter to play the Indian Super League. It now is clear that this was an act of desperation.
The club officials got the club into this situation, they now should either leave or steer the club clear of this mess for East Bengal to focus on what it is supposed to, play football and other sports, but for a while now, the action on the field has become a side product of an institution which hasn’t realised that Indian football has moved forward, ahead of the old days in which Indian football as per Kolkata definition used to revolve around East Bengal Club, Mohun Bagan AC (now ATK Mohun Bagan) and Mohammedan Sporting Club.
The club needs to bring in sports management professionals, who understand the Bengali mindset and what this club stands for, to then take it into the new era of professional Indian club football.
Indian football need a club like East Bengal, but if it becomes a constant liability as it has been for a while, then Indian club football will move ahead and this institution will be left behind and also its huge fan base across Bengal, India and the whole world.
I hope a permanent solution is found and not another stop gap solution, which results in a similar situation in the future. Lets pray for East Bengal Club and its best interests!
