Kolkata: A couple of days after a cloud of uncertainty was lifted over Sunday’s derby at the Salt Lake Stadium, the ISL clash between East Bengal FC and Mohun Bagan SG is staring at a fresh controversy.
Highlighting a disparity in ticket pricing, Mohun Bagan club has urged the green-and-maroon fans to “boycott” the match.
East Bengal FC under investor Emami Group are hosts of the ISL’s second-leg derby. The first-leg fixture, organized by Mohun Bagan SG, ended 2-2 on February 3.
As per the vendor website, BookMyShow, a fan in the designated East Bengal stands can buy tickets in the denominations of 100, 150, 200, 300 and 400, while prices for the away (Bagan) stands include denominations of 250, 300, 350, 400 and 500. These exclude VIP seats.
Although charging ‘away’ fans higher than home fans to watch the same match is common across the globe, in Indian football’s context, a host club usually maintains parity in terms of ticket pricing for both sections of fans.
“Under the circumstances, we unequivocally condemn the unsportsmanlike behaviour of East Bengal and have decided that we will neither buy nor sell any tickets of the derby match… This communication may be treated as an official boycott call of the upcoming derby from our side,” Mohun Bagan club secretary Debashis Dutta said in a statement on Thursday.
Efforts to contact Emami Group in this respect remained unfulfilled.
Dutta’s threat for a “boycott” has come close on the heels of doubts over Sunday’s fixture because of a mega Brigade rally called by Trinamool Congress in the city on the same day. It was eventually announced on Tuesday that the match would start at 8.30pm, an hour later than the original kickoff timing, at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday.