MBSG Start their Shield Campaign in Style Amidst the Fans Protest
Pratyusha Jana: Mohun Bagan kicked off their winning streak of IFA Shield campaign donning the ACL jersey despite the fact that they have already been banned from the tournament! Mohun Bagan’s team wore a jersey donning India logo in it safe to say it might have been for the ACL 2. MBSG amidst the protest from the mariners secured their win with a 5-1 margin. Whereas unfortunate for MBSG, Gokulam’s single net came from Apuia’s own goal at 48th minute. On the winning side, Rodrigues and Maclaren solidified their authority with double nets. Robson assisted three of the nets and took the lead for one. While Alberto Rodrigues came with his astonishing double net. MBSG took a dominant position against Gokulam Kerala FC from the very beginning of the match. The first and third goal came from Robson Da Silva’s corner with Alberto Rodrigues opening the goal book at just the 11th minute and 52nd minute respectively of the match. While Gokulam took their stance with few shots however, the defence from MBSG managed the blow swiftly. The second blow came from Jamie Maclaren with a booming shot from the air. Jamie scored yet another net further solidifying their lead at 75th minute of the game. Lastly Robson took a swift net in the 54th minute of the match! Taking the fame for man of the match.
Mohun Bagan SG start IFA Shield campaign with fans’ ‘Protest’ at Kishore Bharati Stadium
Pratyusha Jana: Mohun Bagan Super Giant (MBSG) fans expressed their “SHAME” with protest TIFOs, making their disorientation and dissatisfaction clear. Police quickly intervened, seizing the banners and escorting the small group of protesters to a different stadium. Later, at the game, the fans reignited their protest, shouting the “Go Back” slogan along with banners written “Cowards Management”. Throughout the first 30 minutes, the protesting slogan continued, leaving no hesitation about the dissatisfaction of the fans. Despite the intensity of this action, the overall protest was smaller than expected. The more significant form of fan displeasure is anticipated to be a nearly empty gallery during MBSG’s first IFA Shield match. The fans’ continuous protest in social media and agitations before the club premises made it visibly clear that Mohun Bagan Super Giants will face the backlash from the Mariners for their withdrawal from the AFC Champions League Two (ACL Two) competition for a second consecutive season. MBSG’s withdrawal from the League came as they failed to travel to Iran, citing security concern for their foreign players; however, the move backfired as they now face a multi-year ban and hefty fine from the authority.
AIFF seeks a review of Article 23 and 25 from the Supreme Court before the new constitution is adopted
The All India Football Federation has made an appeal to the Supreme Court for a review of its new constitution’s two debatable clauses before its adoption on 12th October. The executive committee members, at a scheduled meeting in Delhi on Tuesday, have taken the decision for the review of petition of Articles 23 and 25. These two articles deal with amendments to the constitution and the Supreme Court’s control over it and concurrent memberships in the AIFF and state associations, respectively. Following this decision, the matter was mentioned to the Court on Thursday, with the lawyer representing AIFF seeking “minor tweaks” to the two clauses. The judge decided to hear the matter again on Friday. Article 25.3 (b and c) of the constitution, which the Supreme Court approved on September 19, prevents officials from holding administrative posts simultaneously in the AIFF and state associations. “In the event a person is elected as an Office-Bearer in the Executive Committee of the AIFF and holds a position of an Office-Bearer in a Member Association, he/she shall automatically be deemed to have vacated his/her position in the Member Association,” it is written in the constitution. “Similarly, in the event that a person is elected as an Office-Bearer in a Member Association and holds a position of an Office-Bearer in the Executive Committee of the AIFF, he/she shall automatically be deemed to have vacated his/her position in the Member Association.” The apex court had reinstated this clause to “ensure that an official at the national federation is not overworked with responsibilities at a member association” after they were deleted by Justice LN Rao while formulating the constitution. Article 23.3 directs the AIFF to seek the Court’s permission before attempting to make amendments to the constitution, which some view as ‘third-party interference’ liable for sanctions from the world governing body FIFA. State officials have pointed out that FIFA does not have any such provision of restricting state representation. Even it has been learned that they are willing to resign en masse from the executive committee in case the new constitution is adopted without changes at its special general meeting on 12th October. A major chunk of the 16 Executive Commitee members are office bearers in state associations while several adopted members, all eminent players, have links to academies that amount to a conflict of interest. In such a scenario, the federation could be left without an executive committee that could force elections before completion of the Kalyan Chaubey-led committee’s tenure in 20th September.
Naqvi accused of violating the Code of Responsibilities and Ceremonial Protocols; tight-lipped before the media
Mohsin Naqvi, the chief of the Asia Cricket Council, has allegedly been accused of breaching the Code of Responsibilities and Ceremonial Protocols during the Asia Cup final. He did not present the Asia Cup trophy to the Indian team. It has been learned that the BCCI has made it clear that they intend to escalate the issue to the ICC, with the matter set to be raised at the upcoming ICC meeting in November. The BCCI is also likely to push ICC to impeach Naqvi on the issue. The call for his removal stems from a series of alleged breaches of conduct and protocol, which BCCI members argue have severely damaged the reputation of cricket administration, both for the Asian body and the ICC. Following the controversy, the Asia Cup trophy is now with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB). However, it isn’t yet confirmed how and when the trophy will be handed over to India. Earlier this week, in light of the trophy issue, Naqvi faced questions about the Asia Cup trophy controversy during Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed’s wedding reception in Karachi, and was seen totally tight-lipped before the media questions. In a video shared by TOK Sports, expanding on the incident, Naqvi evaded the questions from the media before being eventually escorted to his car by Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi. “What’s the future of the Asia Cup trophy?” a reporter can be heard saying in the video.
