Mohun Bagan dash letter to I-League & AIFF, lodge complaint about refereeing in Kolkata Derby

Infuriated by the match officials’ decisions during the high-profile clash, the Mariners have sought appropriate action in the regard.

Following the thrilling Kolkata Derby on Sunday which ended with a 3-2 win for East Bengal, Mohun Bagan have written a letter to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), addressing the referees’ contentious decisions during the game.

“With utmost regret we wish to state that the refereeing in today’s match was very depressing and poor. The match referee had no control whatsoever from the start,” the letter said.

“You are very much aware about the intensity of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal match. The Assistant Referee Mr. Arun Pillai made a horrendous mistake of not raising the offside flag from which the East Bengal side scored their first goal,” it went on.

The letter sent to the AIFF by Mohun Bagan after the Kolkata Derby

The Mariners were particularly enraged by the incident, as winger Laldanmawia Ralte’s goal came as an equaliser for the Red and Gold Brigade, which cancelled out Azharuddin Mallick’s opener. Following Ralte’s equaliser, Jobby Justin gave his side the lead just before half-time, with an excellent acrobatic finish.

To make matters worse, Mohun Bagan's Nigerian centre-back Kingsley Obumneme received his marching orders for a second bookable offence, with a half an hour to go. Within just two minutes of his sending off, Ralte scored another to double East Bengal’s lead. Although, Dipanda Dicka pulled one back for the Mariners in the 75th minute, Sankarlal Chakraborty’s side had to return empty-handed from the game.

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Furious with the result, the Mariners also went on to write how the match referee Venkatesh, made some controversial decisions and how the defaulters should be dealt with by saying, “It is our sincere appeal to you to kindly check the video of the match and ensure that these below standard referees are demoted for their poor performance.”

The second letter sent to the AIFF by Mohun Bagan

Moreover, the Kolkata side wrote another mail the day after, citing that the club had submitted the Referees’ Feedback Form to the AIFF Centralised Management System for the game and appealed to the governing body to take the same into consideration, saying, “We hope that the concerns raised by our Team Manager and the points which have been shared by us in the said feedback form will be properly addressed.”

“We request the matter to be deliberated to the appropriate authorities of AIFF and the guilty referees should be handed with severe punishment,” the letter concluded.

Update

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Mohun Bagan President wrote another letter to AIFF President after his side's game against Minerva Punjab

Mohun Bagan President Swapan Sadhan Bose (Tutu Bose) wrote another letter to the President of AIFF, Praful Patel on 20th December, describing identical issues faced in his side's game against Minerva Punjab on the day before.