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What’s the story?
The Kolkata Derby is known to draw large crowds to the stadiums, with the passionate East Bengal and Mohun Bagan fans throng to the galleries.
However, as the two sides took to the field at the iconic Salt Lake Stadium for the first Kolkata Derby of the 2017/18 I-League season, the upper tier gallery adjacent to Gate 3 of the arena was seen to be completely empty, despite the match registering a total attendance of 64,630.
In case you didn’t know…
Kolkata is a city that has been made about the beautiful game since times immemorial, and large numbers of supporters throng to the stadium when these two teams play. The iconic Salt Lake Stadium had recorded a massive attendance of 131,781 when the two sides faced off against each other in the 1997 Federation Cup semifinal.
Heart of the matter
As the two sides faced off against each other Sunday, the sight of an empty gallery in the top tier, towards the centre of the pitch was baffling for any Indian football fan. With tickets for this match being in high demand, how could an entire gallery be empty?
However, this was gallery has been purposely kept empty due to security reasons. There have been previous instances of fan violence in this fixture, the results of which, have been unbecoming of the beautiful game.
In order to keep a safe distance between the two sets of fans, the authorities have decided to keep an entire gallery empty, said a Mohun Bagan official.
A few other pockets in the stadium were also seen to be empty. However, according to the official, this was supposedly due to the fact that a number of fans, who had been given complimentary tickets, decided not to turn up.
What’s next?
There have been previous instances of vandalism in this fixture, especially when the two sets of fans get riled up. With the Salt Lake Stadium being renovated ahead of the FIFA U17 World Cup, earlier this year, the authorities would not want more cases of vandalism from the fans, which would eventually mean more costs in repairing them.
Author’s take
Keeping a gallery empty to segregate the two sets of fans seems to be a good idea. A barricade between them could hardly have worked out, as both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan supporters are known to be fiercely vocal. A few chants or taunts could easily incite violence. Hence keeping them as far apart from each other seems to be the best ploy, even if it is at the expense of one empty gallery.
