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The ugly face of match fixing once again stood up Indian football. And this time, two Kolkata clubs were reported to be involved in the match fixing mutually. In the end, the club, which had a worry of relegation, casually earned three points, while the other, perfectly on a much better position, ruined their chance of becoming the runners-up.
The incident happened at East Bengal Ground on Thursday in a Calcutta Football League match between Tollygunge Agragami and Southern Samiti. The fate of the match, however, was decided much earlier. It was clear that Southern, who were at 12 points from seven matches that time, would concede a goal and give away the three points to their rivals, who were in the relegation zone with only three points from seven matches.
However, immediately after the match started, Southern players started to play a negative football, with lots and lots of miss passes. They even don’t bother to attack their opponents when they are holding the ball. But above all, what caught the eye of the spectators was that Southern fielded those players, who even hardly find a place in the reserve bench.
Southern Samiti fielded their reserve squad for the game
Later it was learnt that the key players were asked to stay away from the match as per the order of the Southern officials. The officials also asked Southern coach Subrata Bhattacharya (Potla) to not to come on the match, as he might be insulted by the fans. In this situation, the coach and the players, who obey the officials as ‘gods’, chose not to come.
With the absence of Southern’s key players, the Tollygunge players made a mockery of the opponents defense and drove as many as four goals into the back of the net. After the final whistle, Southern players and officials started protesting immediately. After talking with them, it was learnt that as per the ‘contract’, Southern was ready to concede a loan goal. But Tollygunge reportedly ‘breached’ it with three extra strikes.
Even after the series of events, neither Southern officials nor the organizers Indian Football Association (IFA) were wished to speak up. Repeated calls from the media persons went unanswered. According to Ei Samay newspaper, IFA Secretary Utpal Ganguly later said, “I don’t know anything about it as I was not present there. The referee also have had not mentioned anything about match fixing on his report. Moreover, he said, the match was perfect”.
I am not involved in it: Southern Samiti coach
Tollygunge coach Subhash Bhowmick also tried to play down the match fixing allegations stating, “I don’t know anything about it (match fixing). We wanted to play well. We did that. Everyone knows my character. I am not involved in it,” Subhash said on the same newspaper.
On the other hand, State Minister Arup Biswas, who is closely associated with Tollygunge club has also declined to comment on the matter. While inspecting the newly built Salt Lake Stadium turf, he said, “I have come as a minister. So I will not comment on the match.”
However, it may be noted that match fixing is nothing new in CFL. In the early days also, small teams were ready to throw the match for the benefit of big clubs, such as East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. The matches between East Bengal and Kalighat MS and this season came into topic for discussion for alleged match fixing. But those claims were rubbished by the organizers as there were no complaints from either clubs.
But now, as the match fixing malady is virulent at the club level and the IFA quickly need to resolve the issues. The tournament, which has come down to only 11 teams n the top division, has a good platform for the young players to showcase their talent and get a call from the big clubs. But if these malicious incidents continue, nobody would even trust the players and definitely, the significance of this age-old league will be shattered.
