I-League: East Bengal officials ask owners Quess to reconsider Super Cup boycott

Kolkata giants East Bengal on Tuesday asked its owners Quess to reconsider its decision to boycott the Super Cup on Tuesday, The Times of India reported.

Following an executive meeting on Monday, East Bengal officials wrote to Quess chairman Ajit Issac seeking his approval. East Bengal, who finished runners-up in the I-League, decided to join six other clubs in boycotting the year-end tournament which also features teams from the Indian Super League.

Minerva Punjab, Aizawl FC and Gokulam Kerala left Bhubaneswar last week without playing their respective matches. The clubs expressed unhappiness at All India Football Federation’s lack of clarity on the future of I-League.

Club official Debabrata Sarkar, after the meeting, admitted that fan pressure, along with the requests of former players, urged him to take a stand: “Apart from hundreds of our supporters, including eminent personalities from different sections of the society like doctors and lawyers, a number of our former players have also urged us to play the Super Cup. Skipping a tournament is not part of this club’s culture. That is why the club’s executive committee has decided to write to our chairman [Isaac] and convey to him our supporters’ sentiments.”

Also read: AIFF’s silence over I-League clubs’ Super Cup boycott is hurting all stakeholders

Sarkar said that he was unaware of the demands of the group who have recently revolted against the AIFF. “We have been kept in the dark about the boycott call,” he said. “So we have written to our chairman to take a fresh look. We are expecting a response from him in the next 48 hours.”

The club had invited Issac for Monday’s meeting but neither he or any other executive from the top brass of the club showed up.

Issac, in his response, were tight-lipped on the matter. In a letter, he said, “Some members of the East Bengal club, on the basis of a strange letter from the football federation, have been involved with avoidable politics and we will not be drawn to that.

“Please work with us to East Bengal and football in India to move forward.”