Kolkata: The ongoing feud between East Bengal and investors Shree Cement over the transfer of sporting rights has gotten bigger and worse. After East Bengal issued a statement stating they won’t sign the final agreement, Shree Cement denied any official communication was made with them from the centenary club.
Although the club has issued a press release, no official communication was made to us by East Bengal that they won’t sign the agreement. We stand firm on our position. If East Bengal don’t sign the final agreement, we won’t be investing a single paisa anymore,” a Shree Cement spokesperson told The Telegraph.
“If they want the sporting rights back, East Bengal will have to pay the entire amount (Rs 54 crore) we invested last year.” Earlier on Friday. East Bengal secretary Kalyan Majumdar issued a statement on behalf of his executives as well as that keeping in mind the emotions of the fans and everyone related to the century-old club.
If East Bengal sign the final agreement, it would see Shree Cement with sole authority over the sporting rights of the club deepening the fiasco. However, the entire episode took a new turn when angry supporters protested outside the club on a weekend evening.
The supporters, who also belong to one of the several fan clubs, demanded Executive Committee member Debabrata ‘Nitu’ Sarkar to step down and even put on several banners against his name. Slogans of ‘Go back Nitu’ were even painted in front of the club gate.
The supporters didn’t stop there. They even planned a protest in front of the club on July 21 demanding the officials to sign the final agreement and let their club play in the Indian Super League.
With the onset of a new season, the future of East Bengal remains in question with the club allegedly most likely to pull out of the upcoming ISL season. The Red and Golds have also not cleared the picture of whether they would play in the Calcutta Football League.
Seeing no future with East Bengal, several foreign players including the likes of Bright Enobakhare and Anthony Pilkington already signing for other clubs. While Enobakhare signed for Coventry City FC, Irish Pilkington penned a new deal with Fleetwood FC.
