KOLKATA: East Bengal officials on Friday reiterated their stand of not signing the final agreement with the investor in its present form, plunging the club’s sporting season into uncertainty.
Following an executive committee meeting, the club insisted that the draft of the definite agreement paper, which was sent by the investor to the club, contained certain “conditions” which would be “insulting to the club members and may curtail the rights of the members.”
The club’s decision came three days before the scheduled end of an Indian Football Association-imposed deadline in which the game’s state parent body has asked Shree Cement East Bengal Foundation — the new entity formed out of the joint venture between the club and its investor Shree Cement Ltd — to clear the air of uncertainty over the red-and-gold outfit’s participation in the season-opening CFL Premier Division ‘A’.
The rigid stand of the club’s decision-making body — which had earlier threatened to resign en masse if it was forced to sign the agreement without any amendments — also means SC East Bengal’s participation in the upcoming season of Indian Super League is now uncertain.
ISL-organisers FSDL may take a call on SC East Bengal’s fate later this month.
The final agreement between the investor and the club needs to be signed so that the company, formed to look after all its sporting activities, can get cracking, including signing of players. However, with the deadlock showing no signs of easing, a number of players, including last season’s Nigerian star Bright Enobakhare and former Republic of Ireland international Anthony Pilkington, have already moved elsewhere.
“The executive committee has decided not to sign the final agreement in which the club may lose its fundamental rights and which may force us to transfer perpetually everything from the club ground, tent, logo and the name of the club to the investors ,” East Bengal club said in the statement, signed by club secretary Kalyan Majumdar.
The Shree Cement management refused any comment until they would receive an official letter from the club in this respect.
However, with the club’s all sporting rights already transferred to the investor, it remains to be seen what future lies in store for the red-and-gold cam in this long-drawn battle between the two parties.
