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What's the story?
All is not well in the East Bengal camp these days. After a disappointing campaign in the recently concluded I-League, the historical Bengal outfit has been in the news lately for uninspiring reasons. Questions over coaching, skirmishes among higher-ups and plenty of other issues appear to be plaguing the club. And now another problem seems to have emerged.
Senior players Katsumi Yusa and Mahmoud Al-Amnah had a training bust-up in front of technical director Subhash Bhowmick today, raising serious concerns over the team's unity and state of mind even though Bhowmick has remained defiant in the face of media scrutiny.
In case you didn't know...
This is not the first time this season that an incident such as this has emerged from East Bengal, with Dudu Omagbemi and Gurwinder Singh also having a brief scuffle earlier in the season. Not just this, the team's coach Khalid Jamil and Subhash Bhowmick have had very visible problems with each other, making fans question the team's willingness to work together.
The heart of the matter
The incident between Katsumi and Al-Amnah reportedly occurred due to the latter allegedly not passing the ball to his teammate, causing Katsumi to confront his fellow teammate about the issue at hand. The two then proceeded to enter into a heated argument which manifested into an ugly scuffle for no reason.
Ansumana Kromah, who was present during the argument, also complained that Al-Amnah was not passing the ball to Katsumi and hence caused the issue in the first place.
What's next?
With the management in disarray, it remains to be seen what the East Bengal club decides to do about the incident with increasing pressure from fans and media alike.
Author's take
It is clear that something needs to change at this club and soon if fortunes and self-confidence among players are to get a major uplift.
