East Bengal Handed Morale Blow Ahead Of Kolkata Derby By AIFF

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East Bengal have been handed another blow to their morale as their U17 team has been banned by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). This comes only days before they take on FC Goa and only about a week before the Kolkata derby.

In the Youth League derby which was held back on December 16 last year, East Bengal defeated Mohun Bagan by a 0-4 margin. After the match, the Mariners filed a complaint to the AIFF against the Torch Bearers for playing overage players in the game.

After a thorough investigation into the matter, the AIFF found out that the complaints held water. As a result, they came to the decision to ban the East Bengal youth team from the competition. This should see Mohun Bagan's youth team climb to the top of the group table.

Now East Bengal will have to handle this situation on top of issues regarding the Kolkata derby. They are the home team for the upcoming derby and that game's date and venue is still undecided which is a big headache for the Torch Bearers.

On top of that, they will have very little time for rest and preparation before they take on Mohun Bagan in that match. That is, in addition to playing against top-table team FC Goa in the game before the all-important Indian Super League match.

East Bengal play Goa on March 7 and the derby is still scheduled to be held on the 10th. The date could either be moved to March 9 or 11. If it gets moved ahead, East Bengal will be in a world of problems.

They will only get a single day of rest before such a big ISL 2023-24 match. If the venue is moved to a different stadium, East Bengal will have to play without the support of the crowd in their home match which is actually massive on derby days.