CAB protests: Mohun Bagan-East Bengal I-League derby postponed amid security concerns

The AIFF did not specify any reason behind postponing the December 22 match, but sources in the apex body put it down to the ongoing CAB protests.

The 2018 Kolkata derby between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal had more than 60,000 spectators. The two clubs, have been the nerve centres of Indian football and have contributed immensely to the popularity of the sport in the country.

The I-League match featuring the two city giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal has been postponed owing to the fragile political situation in the state.

The match was scheduled to be held on Sunday. According to a release from Mohun Bagan, the police authority responsible for the security match advised of allowing a restricted number of spectators.

With the Kolkata Derby attracting more than 50,000 spectators on an average, the Mohun Bagan approached the All India Football Federation, seeking a fresh date.

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The national federation has agreed to the proposal, informed the release. The new date will be announced later.

“After a detailed discussion, the Police Authorities informed us that the match should be organised on a limited scale and that sale of tickets should be restricted.

"Subsequently, we wrote to AIFF to apprise them of the situation and told them that the derby match is the flagship match of the League. Football lovers look up to this match and to restrict this capacity would be to deprive the thousands of football crazy people from seeing the match.

"The AIFF taking stock of the situation and considering the importance of the Derby Match in the larger interest of the game have granted our request to postpone the match to a later date,” the Mohun Bagan release said.