Indian I-League football Club Mohun Bagan banned for Two Years

I-League football club Mohun Bagan on 29 December 2012 slapped with a two-year suspension by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for abandoning their violence-marred I-League match against East Bengal on 9 December 2012.

As per the AIFF’s Statement Mohun bagan had breached Regulation 22, the 123-year-old club, had been withdrawn from the current I-League season, with all its past and future matches in the 2012/13 null and void. In effect, this season will have 13 teams now.

The I-League Core Committee of All India Football Federation (AIFF) received the detailed Report dated 26th December 2012 of the Justice A K Ganguly relating to I-League Match No. 68 between Kingfisher East Bengal (KEB) and Mcdowell Mohun Bagan (MMB) played at Yuba Bharati Stadium, Salt Lake City Kolkata on 9 December 2012.

Justice Ganguly in his report has concluded that the decision of MMB for not playing the match after the interval cannot be supported on the grounds of Force Majeure and accordingly MMB has breached Regulation 22 of the I-League Regulation 2012-2013.

The I-League core committee is going to meet on 9 January 2013 to decide if the quantum of punishment on Mohun Bagan is enough or if additional fine and suspension were needed.

About Mohun Bagan Football Club

• Founded in 1889, Mohun Bagan is the oldest football club in India.
• It is the first Indian club to win the IFA Shield final, in 1911, beating East Yorkshire Regiment.
• It have won the erstwhile National Football League thrice — in 1997-98, 1999-2000, 2001-02 — and their best performance in the re-christened I-League has been a runner-up finish in 2008-09.