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What's the story?
A senior Mohun Bagan official, Srinjoy Bose, yesterday mocked the Mariners' fierce rivals East Bengal after the Red and Golds earned a controversial late penalty against Patha Chakra in the Calcutta Football League yesterday.
Bose was reported by Goal India to have let out his frustrations via a Facebook post where he compared East Bengal to Spanish giants Barcelona with respect to the help from officials the two clubs seem to get.
In case you didn't know...
Bose was among the countless Mohun Bagan faithful who wanted East Bengal to drop points after the Mariners drew against NBP Rainbow AC on Wednesday. East Bengal were also heading in the same direction but a late goal from Mahmoud Al Amna that resulted from the penalty settled the nerves of the defending champions.
The heart of the matter
This is what Bose posted after the match, the screenshot of which was published in the report.
Mohun Bagan have failed to win the CFL title in the past seven seasons and the trend is set to continue even this year. Their two dropped points against Rainbow meant East Bengal leapfrogged them after yesterday's win. Like the Mariners, the Red and Golds also fell behind to their unfancied opponents but unlike their fierce rivals, they completed the comeback with goals from Brandon Vanlalremdika and Al Amna.
What's next?
The CFL title race is set to go down to the wire this season as only two points separate East Bengal at the top from second placed Mohun Bagan. Both teams hadn't dropped points before matchday six, and while Bagan slipped up, Khalid Jamil's men somehow managed to win, albeit with the help of a contentious decision.
The Kolkata derby is scheduled for the 24th of September and judging by the growing animosity between the two teams after a brief period of amicable relations, it is surely going to be a tasty affair.
Author's take
Bose's post on social media comes across as an outburst fuelled by pure frustration and angere after yesterday's result. Being a top Mohun Bagan official and a fan of the club, he expects his team to win every trophy available but judging by East Bengal's recent CFL juggernaut, it seems the Mariners will come up short in another title race.
