Kolkata : Mohammedan Sporting have decided to withdraw from the IFA Shield in protest over what they alleged was “biased refereeing” during their 2-3 loss to a 10-man Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the final round of the CFL Premier Division last Saturday.
Calcutta Customs will replace the team in Group A which also have East Bengal and Punjab FC. Mohammedan Sporting were supposed to play East Bengal in the Shield opener on Tuesday.
Mohammedan Sporting are struggling with a funding crunch and coping with a transfer ban. They are under pressure from their fans to put the house in order.
“Mohammedan Sporting have pulled out. They asked for a replay of last Saturday’s match also. That is not possible. I requested a rethink, but they said their stance was clear,” IFA secretary Anirban Dutta said on Monday.
Mohammedan Sporting football secretary Belal Ahmed Khan had met Dutta at the IFA office on Monday and after that some 25-odd supporters also came.
“Everyone saw Bagan scored the winner from a clear offside position. It’s always Mohammedan Sporting who are at the receiving end of refereeing blunders. In protest, we are pulling out,” club president Ghazal Zafar said.
Mohammedan were drawn with East Bengal and Punjab FC in Group 1. Since they withdrew, Calcutta Customs have replaced them in that same group and will face East Bengal and Punjab FC on 24 and 27 September respectively.
Found in 1892, Calcutta Customs are 4 times runners up in IFA Shield for – 1908, 1909, 1915 and 1939 editions.
In Calcutta Football League 2026, Customs shocked Bengal defeating Mohun Bagan 1-0. Although Bagan went on to become champion, this was one of the greatest upset of this year, which at that time created hurdles in Mohun Bagan’s path to Super 6 and Customs showed who they are. However, they narrowly missed Super 6 berth finishing on number 4 in Group A points table with 5 wins , 18 points from 11 games.
They will look to grab this opportunity after replacing Mohammedan SC last minute in the prestigious tournament.
IFA Shield will now start on Wednesday with defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant taking on Sreenidi Deccan FC on 23rd September.
