Three times Kolkata Derby has been canceled in modern era

A 399th meeting between the two sides was canceled due to fear of unrest.

The highly-awaited first Kolkata Derby of the 2024-25 season between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal in the Durand Cup group stages has been canceled. The tournament’s committee have confirmed that the game will not be happening, with both teams likely to share a point apiece – which will allow them to move forward into the knockout rounds.

Throughout history, this iconic derby between the Kolkata giants has been played over 300 times. But, there have been only a few times when the derby had to be cancelled.

Be it due to off-the-field issues or certain football-related turmoil, there have only been three occasions on which a Mohun Bagan-East Bengal clash has been cancelled altogether in the 21st century. Here we look at the three occasions when that happened.

3. Rahim Nabi drama caused chaos in 2012 Kolkata Derby

A particularly heated Kolkata Derby took place on December 9, 2012, in the I-League between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, as both teams tried to get one over the other. A 95,000-strong Salt Lake Stadium witnessed a heated and aggressive match between the two sets of players.

East Bengal drew first blood through Harmanjot Khabra’s goal in the 43rd minute, after which things started to get out of control. Two minutes later, Mohun Bagan striker Odafa Okolie was sent off – something that infuriated the Mariners’ faithful in the stands.

Several supporters started hurling objects onto the field and one particular missile ended up hitting Syed Rahim Nabi on the head. He was badly injured and forced to be hospitalized, as the Mohun Bagan team went into the dressing room to protest Okolie’s sending off.

They refused to come out for the second half, causing East Bengal to get a 3-0 win and the match to be cancelled. The Mariners were banned from the I-League for their actions and only returned a month later after seeing their points tally drop to zero.

ALSO READ: Durand Cup 2024: Kolkata Derby cancelled due to lack of police protection

2. 2020 Kolkata Derby cancelled due to COVID-19

The 2019-20 season turned out to be a highly successful one for Mohun Bagan. They dominated and successfully clinched the 2019-20 I-League title, finishing the campaign 16 points above second-placed East Bengal. The Mariners ousted their rivals with a  2-1 win in the first derby of the I-League campaign to take control of the title race.

They were poised to play the second derby on 15 March, 2020. However, the COVID-19 outbreak started all over India at that point and the I-League campaign had to be finished earlier than usual. The lockdowns in Kolkata and the rapid spread of COVID-19 forced the I-League organizers to decide to cancel the Kolkata Derby, soon after which Mohun Bagan were announced as the I-League champions.

1. The 2024 Durand Cup Derby is canceled

The 2024 Durand Cup group clash between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal was a highly-anticipated one as thousands of fans even bought their tickets for the occasion. However, a day before the match was supposed to happen, the Durand Cup committee had a meeting with both clubs’ officials and mutually decided to cancel the derby.

This was after the West Bengal government failed to give a guarantee to provide the necessary security needed in and around the Salt Lake Stadium for this match. With many protests ringing around Kolkata for justice for the brutal rape and murder of a doctor from the RG Kar Hospital, the police personnel are assigned duties in that regard. As a result, both teams will not meet in the group stages of the 2024 Durand Cup.

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