Kolkata Derby canceled as rivals protest in unison against injustice in the RG Kar Rape Case
When one talks about Indian football, the match that must be mentioned is the Kolkata Derby between the two Football giants of India, Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal FC. The oldest tournament in Asia, Durand Cup was all set to witness the rivalry in front of thousands of supporters in the iconic Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on August 18. But the match got canceled due to fear of mass protests.
KOLKATA DERBY CANCELLED: A TIMELINE OF EVENTS
On August 9, 2024, Dr. Moumita Debnath, a postgraduate trainee doctor was brutally raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata. Soon after protests started. The first major protest was on August 14, 23:55, when almost all the roads of West Bengal saw a huge number of females of all age groups, along with males protesting and demanding justice.
Soon after the fans’ clubs of MBSG and EBFC decided to make tifos against the situation and protest together, keeping their rivalries aside. This association is famous all over the country as people know very well how much power this coalition holds.
On August 17, tifos were banned at first. Soon after the Police department and Durand Cup committee had a meeting and decided to cancel the match as they assumed by now how much the voice of 50-60 thousand supporters will pressurize the ruling party.
KOLKATA DERBY CANCELLED: WHAT HAPPENS TO THE TEAMS?
The match is canceled, not rescheduled, thus the points are shared and both MBSG and EEBFC qualified for the Quarter Finals as the group champions and runners (overall 2nd best runners), respectively. Both finished with 7 points but MBSG (+7) were ahead of EEBFC (+4) on goal difference.
KOLKATA DERBY CANCELLED: WHAT NEXT IN TOURNAMENT?
QF 2 and 4 were supposed to be played at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, but QF 2 was shifted to Shillong where EEBFC will take on Shillong Lajong FC for the first time since the 2018-19 I-League. The Organizers are trying their best to host the two Semi-Finals and the Final in Kolkata.
The upcoming fixtures are:
QF 1: North East United FC vs Army Red (16:00)
QF 2: Shillong Lajong FC vs Emami East Bengal FC (19:00)
QF 1 and QF 2 will be played on August 21, 2024.
QF 3: Mohun Bagan Super Giant vs Punjab FC (16:00)
QF 4: Bengaluru FC vs Kerala Blasters FC (19:00)
QF 3 and 4 will be played on August 23, 2024.
KOLKATA DERBY CANCELLED: PLAYERS’ REACTIONS
Popular players of both teams joined the movement and supported the protest. Pritam Kotal, Liston Colaco, Pronoy Halder, and Souvik Chakraborti posted on their social media that they support the movement and that justice must be delivered. However, Souvik Chakraborti’s Facebook post was reported to have been deleted after the post was made. In the physio of East Bengal FC, Senen Alvarez also joined the protest with his wife.
KOLKATA DERBY CANCELLED: MORE PROTESTS TO COME?
Indeed the protests are still to come. Now that the rivals are united, there will be protests in numbers. A protest took place today, on August 18, 2024, outside the Salt Lake Stadium metro station, at around 4-5 PM (16:00-17:00). Police arrested 10-12 supporters but was released when AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey intervened. The protest was done by many East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, and Mohammedan supporters. Mohun Bagan SG captain Subhashish Bose was spotted in that protest. People are surprised by the fact that so many police were there to stop the protesters but yesterday it was announced that the Derby match had to be cancelled due to security issues and many polices could not be provided.
KOLKATA DERBY CANCELLED: CONCLUSION
Football is not just a game, it’s a phenomenon that teaches discipline, and respect, unites individuals, and stirs up powerful feelings. It can unite the world irrespective of people’s backgrounds. History witnessed some protests against different kinds of issues and agendas. As long as people don’t get to see justice being delivered, protests will go on and it will go on through the most beautiful game on the planet.
We should keep in mind that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” If a protest is peaceful and has a true purpose, the protest should not stop until demands are met.