What’s the story?
The Mohun Bagan team bus, on its way back to the hotel, was attacked by a group of locals after it met with an accident with a scooter. According to reports, none of the players have been harmed.
A source close to the club narrated the incident, saying, “After the accident took place, the locals blamed the driver for it and were physically assaulting him. The team manager tried to break up the fight, but he was pushed around as well.”
The players also got involved subsequently but were fortunately unhurt. The source said, “Some players got off the bus. But when the locals tried to assault them, we controlled the situation.”
In case you didn’t know
The Mariners had recorded a comfortable victory in their opening encounter in their first match of the ongoing Federation Cup. They defeated DSK Shivajians at the Barabati Stadium 4-0, with a brace from Balwant Singh and goals from Jeje Lalpekhlua and Darryl Duffy.
The heart of the matter
The Bagan side were on their way back to their hotel after the match when a scooter ran into the team bus. Angry locals stormed into the bus but a further worsening of the situation was avoided as things were worked out by the team management on the spot.
This incident comes just four days after recently-crowned I-League champions Aizawl FC were also involved in a bus accident. A bus carrying the players to the airport, from where the team was to leave for Cuttack, met with an accident but there was no damage to any player.
What’s next?
Further details regarding the accident are still coming in. Meanwhile, the Mariners will face off against Shillong Lajong in their next encounter to be held on May 10.
Author’s take
It is an extremely unfortunate incident and should be investigated properly. The positive thing is that there was no unnecessary violence and that the situation did not go out of hand.
