AFC bans Mohun Bagan after two back-to-back ACL Two withdrawals

AFC came down hard on Mohun Bagan Super Giant following their refusal to travel to Iran.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has initiated action against Mohun Bagan Super Giant, the Indian Super League Shield and Cup winners, after they withdrew from an AFC Champions League 2 match earlier this year.

The AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee on Wednesday evening has announced that Mohun Bagan Super Giant are disqualified from participating in the next AFC club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the next two AFC club competition seasons (i.e. up to and including the 2027/28 season).

A hoard of sanctions for Mariners

Mohun Bagan Super Giant is also ordered to pay a fine of USD 50,000 to the AFC within the thirty days of the date that this decision is communicated to them by the Asian Football Confederation.

This means even if they win the ISL-League Shield in the next ISL season or even if they win the AIFF Super Cup next season they will not be considered for the prestigious continental AFC competition.

According to sources, its a one-year ban, but valid till the 2027-28 edition. If Mohun Bagan don’t qualify next season but qualify in 2027-28, they will have to serve the ban that year. If Bagan qualify in 2026-27, they will serve during that edition.

Why this ban on Mohun Bagan?

Mohun Bagan refused to travel to Iran earlier this year to play against the Iranian club Sepahan SC in their AFC Champions League 2 2025-26 Group C fixture.

The match was scheduled to be played at Iran’s Isfahan on 30th September, 2025. But Mohun Bagan did not travel to Iran and report for the game citing various issues like their foreign players security, volatile conditions at Iran, etc., resulting in their withdrawal from the competition by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The Mohun Bagan Super Giant management also cited that most of their foreign players were not eager to travel to Iran, as a result of which many of their Indian players also refused to travel. They even requested the AFC to change the venue of the match, but it was not accepted by the Asian Football Confederation.

Most of Mohun Bagan’s foreigners, namely Dimitri Petratos, Jason Cummings, Jamie Maclaren, and Tom Aldred, hailing from Australia, were not willing to travel to Iran due to the travel advisory issued by their government and the embassy.

Thus, Australian players are not prohibited from travelling by AFC regulations, but travelling to Iran was severely discouraged by Australian official travel warnings, and the Mohun Bagan squad’s Australians declined the trip on safety and advisory reasons due to additional hurdles caused by Iran’s visa requirements.

This was not the first time that Mohun Bagan refused to travel to Iran to play against an Iranian club. In past seasons, citing safety and security concerns, they refused to play against Tractor FC in another AFC Champions League 2 match in Iran.

This suspension will definitely cause a lot of hiccups and problems for the management now. Now it will be a concern for the club officials how they can handle the questions and pressure from the fans and the supporters all around the world.

Aftermath of suspensions

Along with the suspension, Mohun Bagan Super Giant is ordered to pay a hefty compensation of USD 50,729 to the AFC within thirty days of the date this decision is communicated, in respect of the damages and losses claimed by the AFC and Sepahan SC (Iran).

Already, Mohun Bagan supporters raised their voices and were protesting against the decision of not to travel to Iran and participate in the competition throughout the Durand Cup and AIFF Super Cup.

Questions were also asked regarding this to the club officials by the members of the club during the AGM earlier this month. Fans, supporters and members of the club around the world were already not happy and today this suspension will cause more widespread protests.

As of now, AFC haven’t announced the suspension of the participation of the Indian clubs in the competition as a result of Mohun Bagan’s withdrawal, but this suspension will definitely cause a lot of concern and setbacks for Indian football amidst the ongoing uncertainty of the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League in the country.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant will also try to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after receiving the formal suspension, with the hope of the withdrawal of the suspension and the compensation fees.

But a big task lies ahead for the Mohun Bagan Super Giant management that how they deal with this suspension, as they have already sacked Jose Molina and started their practice session under their new head coach Sergio Lobera for the upcoming ISL season.

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