I-League 2017: Captain Sony Norde pleads with Mohun Bagan supporters to maintain decorum during match

Sony Norde
Sony Norde

What's the story?

Mohun Bagan are all set to host their first ever I-League match at their club ground on Friday afternoon when they play the Indian Arrows. Bagan official Srinjoy Bose along with goalkeeper Shilton Paul and captain Sony Norde sent out a message to their fans ahead of the all-important clash. Each one of them requested the supporters to maintain decorum inside the stadium and not to throw any objects on the pitch.

In case you didn't know...

There have been a lot of speculations whether the ‘Maidan’ ground is capable of hosting a top tier football match, especially with the absence of an away dressing room.

The away
The away dressing room is almost complete

But the management has worked hard over the past week to install a new dressing room, new dugouts and also a tower for the cameras.

The heart of the matter

Since a lot of history is associated with this club, Srinjoy Bose made it very clear that if anything goes wrong during tomorrow’s match, it will be a loss of face for the club and no further matches will be held at the venue.

“I request the supporters to maintain discipline inside the stadium for the upcoming match. We often see spectators throwing bottles on the field when they angry. We will not get any matches on our ground in the future if that happens,” said Bagan goalkeeper Shilton Pal during the pre-match conference.

Captain Sony Norde will not be a part of the match due to injury but he was present at the press conference to send a message.

Sony said, “Our officials tried very hard to prepare this ground under a week, playing in Barasat is a not good option as four players got injured the last time we played there. We know you all love your team, and we know you come to support us because your support is very important for us. So please support your team. The referee can make mistakes, everybody is human. So please don’t do anything which will hurt the club’s reputation.”

What's next?

The match against the Indian Arrows will be a big challenge for the club and will decide the fate of the next match which scheduled to be played at the ground on January 2. If everything goes properly, the ground will get a green signal for hosting further I-League matches.

Author's take

It is a good move to shift some of the matches to the Mohun Bagan Ground as it would cost the club less than playing at the Salt Lake Stadium and most importantly playing on natural grass will decrease the probability of injuries.

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Edited by Soumo Ghosh