Football: ISL champions Mohun Bagan refuse to release players for India camp
MBSG at loggerheads with AIFF over player welfare
The All India Football Federation has found itself at the centre of yet another tough situation, with the Indian Super League champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant now at loggerheads with them, becoming the latest team to question the federation's processes.
As has been well documented in recent weeks, the AIFF have been forced to place the ISL on hold until further notice, and the entire future of India’s top top-flight football league remains up in the air with no definitive timescale for a solution in sight.
Owing to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the ISL, teams have had to take fairly drastic measures to balance the books, including suspending player and first team personnel wages and even halting club operations for the time being.
MBSG were one of the teams participating in the Durand Cup, and they have now triggered a standoff with the AIFF by refusing to allow the seven players summoned by new head coach Khalid Jamil to attend the national team’s training camp. A club representative mentioned:
“Unless it is a FIFA international window, it is not mandatory for the club to release its players as there is no compensation in case of injury. Hence, we are not releasing anyone for this camp.”
In addition to the likes of Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, and Vishal Kaith, who were called up to the senior team, the Mariners also declined to release four U23 players who were summoned to the India U23 squad for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers.
ISL clubs hoping for Judgement Day this week
Eleven of the 13 participating teams in the Indian Super League penned a letter to the Amicus Curiae pleading for an urgent decision on the crisis the league currently faces, with the AIFF set to appear in the Supreme Court this Friday, August 22.
Notably, Mohun Bagan were one of the two clubs that did not sign the letter, nor were they among the several teams to have suspended club operations. East Bengal was the other team that opted not to add its name to the letter submitted by the rest of the teams in the division.
It has been revealed that one of the key aspects that the clubs mentioned in their written response was that the ISL sustains the majority of professional footballers in India (provides over 400 player contracts), and reinforced that any further delays may cause irreversible harm to the entire top-flight ecosystem.
