Kolkata giant East Bengal FC voiced its concern about the prevailing situation in Srinagar and sought a postponement or a change of venue of its upcoming I-League football match against Real Kashmir FC.
One of the directors of the Quess East Bengal FC, Debabrata Sarkar, said that the head coach of the team and a number of players, especially the foreigners, are feeling apprehensive about the situation in and around Srinagar.
East Bengal is scheduled to play its match, which has once been postponed owing to heavy snowfall in Srinagar, on February 28.
‘Serious reservations’
The East Bengal FC director said the team’s Spanish coach Alejandro Menendez, has mailed his “serious reservations about playing the match in Srinagar” to the CEO of the team, Sanjit Sen.
“The primary concern is about the players, who are quite apprehensive of the existing situation. The situation is extremely volatile in Srinagar and if we are forced to play, the players will be doing it under duress.
“The All India Football Federation (AIFF) should take a decision after properly assessing the situation and not just to prove a point,” said Sarkar.
“We can certainly travel to Srinagar and play the match but when the situation is normal,” he added.
The East Bengal team placed on record a mail sent to the AIFF by the team CEO Sanjit Sen outlining the concern of the team and its manager Alejandro Menendez.
Neutral venue
The East Bengal team CEO’s letter, while addressing the concern of the coach and its players, asked the national federation about a possibility of having the match at a neutral venue.
According to the team officials, the AIFF has refused to postpone the match or change the venue while asking the team to send its travel plans to arrange for additional security for the team.
“If we do not get a satisfactory reply from AIFF then we decide on the next course of action,” Sarkar said.