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What's the story?
It is safe to say that the passion which football generates in a city like Kolkata can hardly be found in any other part of the country. In this case, when a passionate city like Kolkata has as many as three top teams playing in the ISL and the I-League, there are bound to be clashes between the different set of supporters.
Since the inception of the Indian Super League, the fans of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan have held a grudge against ATK. Last year, supporters of the ISL side were trolled on social media by the fans of the I-League clubs when ATK decided to give away flags to the supporters inside their stadium.
But the tide has now changed with the ATK fans now getting their revenge on the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan supporters on social media because the same thing recently happened in the Kolkata Derby, where East Bengal distributed flags to their fans.
In case you didn't know...
The second derby of the current I-League season ended in favour of Mohun Bagan who trounced East Bengal 2-0 and managed to achieve a double over their eternal rivals.
Meanwhile, ATK, the reigning champions, are struggling for form at the moment and after Saturday's 3-0 loss against FC Pune City, the ISL's most successful side lies at a lowly ninth in the league table.
The heart of the matter
When ATK had distributed flags in their stadium, the fans of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan had called it a publicity gimmick and a strategy to bloat the attendance in the stadium. But the same was now repeated in the Kolkata Derby, where 52,000 people attended the most awaited game of the Indian football calendar.
However, one particular East Bengal or Mohun Bagan fan seemed rather miffed about these comments.
However, an East Bengal official revealed to Sportskeeda that these flags were not placed by the club. Instead, a group of fans had got together to take this initiative, according to the official.
What's next?
The supporters of East Bengal argued that the flags were given away in order to create a tifo before kick off and not for the reasons for which they were distributed in the ISL. It will be interesting to see what happens next in this argument between the different fan bases of the clubs from the same city.
Author's take
Distributing flags inside a stadium is a way of improving the quality of the atmosphere during a football game. But the banter between these successful Indian teams can be termed as entertaining for others and one can just wonder what will be the scenario when these three sides (hypothetically) play in one league when the two competitions merge in the coming years!
