SC East Bengal & ATK Mohun Bagan continue to give CFL a miss - What happens to their fixtures?

ATK Mohun Bagan and SC East Bengal continue to remain absent from their respective Calcutta Football League (CFL) fixtures.

While East Bengal did not turn up on September 3 for their match against United Sports, ATKMB followed suit the next day when they were supposed to lock horns against Kidderpore SC. Indian Football Association (IFA), the governing body for football in West Bengal, secretary Joydeep Mukherjee maintained his stance that these matches will not be cancelled and three points will be awarded to the opposition. 

Will ATK Mohun Bagan and East Bengal concede walkovers?

"We are sticking to our schedule. If any team fails to turn up three points will be awarded to the opposition. The same applies for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan," Mukherjee confirmed to Goal. 

It is unlikely that both East Bengal and Bagan will play a single match in the competition. In the CFL opener against George Telegraph, the Green and Maroons did not arrive at the venue. The opposition waited for the Mariners to turn up for 15 minutes as per the regulations but even after the stipulated time when Bagan did not turn up, it was treated as a walkover and three points was awarded to George Telegraph. 

ISL

Will SCEB & ATKMB be relegated from CFL?

IFA had formulated a shorter version of the CFL due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, it was decided that there will be no relegation for this edition of the competition.

"All the 14 clubs had previously decided that there will be no relegation. Hence the neither Mohun Bagan nor East Bengal will be relegated. However, both the clubs have mentioned that they do not have youth teams and a reserve team. I do not understand how this works. Nevertheless, it seems to me that the club officials want to play but other stakeholders of the club are not willing to participate," Mukherjee had stated earlier.