Report: Mohun Bagan won’t be denied I-League title in case of cancellation

The Mariners won the competition with four games in hand but rivals East Bengal have reportedly raised questions on their 'champions' status.

The I-League season is nearing a possible cancellation due to the ongoing situation in the country, but that won’t mean that Mohun Bagan will be denied the chance to lift the trophy.

The Mariners have already won the title with a few games to spare, after defeating Aizawl FC in their last match at the Kalyani Stadium. They were due to be presented the crown in their final home game against Real Kashmir, but that is now a distant dream.

However, according to The Times of India, they won’t be denied the title having won it already even if the season is declared null and void. While the I-League committee is set to have a video conference meeting on Saturday to hold discussions on cancelling the league, they are not intent on denying the Mariners their championship.

The report suggests that rivals East Bengal have raised questions on whether anybody can be declared as champions if a season is indeed cancelled, since there is no rule in the I-League regulations stating that. There is no specific rule on what happens in case of a season cancellation, but the All India Football Federation (AIFF) holds enough power to make the calls in such a situation.

The I-League regulations state, “cases of force majeure are be decided by the I-League Committee, whose decision will be final.” The committee meet on Saturday is likely to decide on declaring Bagan as the champions of the 2019-20 season.

The League’s committee chairman Subrata Dutta also spoke on the matter and said, “The committee will decide and discuss the fate of the league and the rest will be in the hands of the executive committee. This is a force majeure situation and the league has never remained incomplete. I could not find anything about such a situation.”

The league body had also sought feedback from every team in the league and apart from East Bengal, Mohun Bagan found favour from most clubs wanting them to be declared as champions, even if the league has to be cancelled.