I am a Mohun Bagan fan and have never hidden that. Having said that, may I also say that when Dimi Petratos pushed Sayan Mukherjee away in anger, it was an offence that could have merited even a red card. That’s what summed up Saturday evening’s derby for me. Poor refereeing that marred the contest. For much of the second half, East Bengal’s players were on the ground play-acting and there were innumerable scuffles that the referee just couldn’t manage. For all the derby intensity, it was an average game impacted by poor refereeing.
The penalty was a 50-50 call and the second Mohun Bagan goal could easily have been deemed a foul with Sahal Abdul Samad using his hands on his adversary to gain control. The referee stayed silent and allowed things to carry on. It was as if he wanted it to be a draw. To ensure that things didn’t get out of control. Having made half a mistake with the penalty, he overcompensated with the Mohun Bagan goal. And not showing Petratos a card was not the best display of courage from the man in charge.
The derby was evidence that except the fan passion, which is world-class, everything else about our football is average or below average. Anwar Ali had no business playing. He wasn’t even half-ready. Antonio Lopez Habas, recently reappointed Bagan coach, risked Anwar’s career by putting him on the pitch. In all probability, he is now out of the two Afghanistan World Cup qualifiers in March.
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Kiyan Nassiri, who many argued could be a replacement for Sunil Chhetri in the national side, was flying around like a flyweight boxer at each touch. With such physicality, or lack of, he will have no place in international football. Mohun Bagan were more physical but that was mostly limited to the foreign players and, to an extent, Subhasish Bose and Manvir Singh. For East Bengal, Mahesh Naorem had the skill but lacked physicality. He can get away with it at ISL level, but in international football, he will get found out, as he was to an extent at the AFC Asian Cup.
The defending from both teams lacked any sort of cohesion. The first East Bengal goal in the third minute was evidence. The entire Mohun Bagan defence looked lethargic and the scorer was entirely unmarked. Similarly, for the second goal, that jump from Deepak Tangri on Mahesh was entirely uncalled for. The ball had already passed him and Mahesh was at least a metre away from it. To give him an opportunity to win a penalty was something Tangri, a national team player now, should have avoided.
In all, 2-2 was a fair result. Neither team deserved to win. Both didn’t play well. Yes, there were glimpses of skill from Sahal and Petratos but that’s where it ended. The draw meant there was no post-match violence, and that was the only real takeaway from the derby last night. With both teams blaming the referee, there is a real question mark over the standard of officiating. Such refereeing can only adversely impact our football, and the faster we rectify it, the better.
Also Read: Thrilling 2-2 draw marks memorable Kolkata Derby clash at Salt Lake Stadium