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What's the story?
The fans of Aizawl FC have reportedly filed an FIR against their former coach Khalid Jamil, who is now in charge of Kolkata giants East Bengal FC. Khalid Jamil was back at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl on Tuesday for a vital I-League clash, which ended in a stalemate.
In case you didn't know...
Khalid Jamil led Aizawl FC to a historic I-League win last season, but he was roped in by East Bengal in the beginning of the season. He has delivered well this season after a shaky start, but the draw against his former club was a setback to East Bengal’s title hopes.
The heart of the matter
As per various sources, it is learnt that the fans of Aizawl FC have lodged an FIR against the I-League-winning coach, allegedly for the comments he made on the eve of his match against his former club. During the pre-match conference on Monday, Jamil made a controversial statement in which he admitted, “I didn’t leave Aizawl. Aizawl told me to go.”
This statement obviously did not go down too well with the Aizawl fans, some of whom came to the Aizawl-East Bengal match with a banner that labelled Jamil as a "traitor".
“We have heard about the matter, but we are not exactly sure as to the reason for this FIR,” East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar said to Sportskeeda.
What's next?
East Bengal were performing consistently but the draws against Churchill Brothers and Aizawl FC have now increased the gap between them and table toppers Minerva Punjab. Their next match against arch-rivals Mohun Bagan is a must-win for the Red and Gold brigade.
Author's take
Khalid Jamil has already been warned many times this season, and he is facing the heat once again. The team is performing well, but the off-field events have been hampering their title dreams.
The next two matches are literally their most two important games of the season. The first is against Mohun Bagan, while the other is against table toppers Minerva Punjab FC. The team from Kolkata has to find a way to sort everything before the next match to keep their I-League hopes alive.
