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Derby games are always captivating for the fans be it the geography of the teams involved, their history against each other, scale of success or simply the opportunity of having a go for each other's heads in front of a sold-out crowd.
Football makes up a significant proportion of the lifestyle in Bengal and the Kolkata Derby contested between the 'Red and Golds' of East Bengal and the 'Maroon Brigade' of Mohun Bagan is quite easily the most looked up fixture on the calendar every year. The teams face each other at least three times every year, once in the Calcutta Football League and twice in India's national football league or the I-League.
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The two sides will lock horns for the first time in the I-League this season on Sunday and the game promises to be nothing short of spectacular.
However, the supporters of both clubs have a reputation of being critical and there have been instances when they were hard to control. Here we take a look at the 5 most controversial moments in the history of one of Asia's biggest rivalry.
#5 Shankar Lal Chakrabarti sending off in 2016
The highly-contested derby at the Kanchenjunga Stadium in Siliguri back in 2016 lived up to the expectations of being a high voltage thriller in front of a sell-out crowd. The hosts ran out eventual winners thanks two goals from South Korean Do Dong-Hyun, including one from a controversial penalty that was awarded to the Red and Golds.
Mohun Bagan's assistant manager Shankar Lal Chakrabarti, who took command on the touchline on the night instead of the banned Sanjoy Sen, was sent off by the referee for protesting against a decision.
However, that was not the end of it as Mohun Bagan pulled a goal back through Katsumi Yusa in the 83rd minute and received a huge opportunity to get something out of the game when they were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes of the game.
In spite of all that drama, it was not meant to be for the Mariners on the night and Jeje Lalpekhlua failed to convert from the spot-kick.
#4 Subrata Bhattacharya's derby debut against Mohun Bagan
Have you ever imagined Francesco Totti taking the managerial role at Lazio, or Paolo Maldini on the touchline shouting out instructions at the players of Internazionale? This particular scenario was almost as disturbing for the Mohun Bagan fans, as the ones mentioned above and it became a reality in 2007 when Bagan legend Subrata Bhattacharya took over the reigns at East Bengal.
The largely unpopular spell came to an end shortly after the derby when Bhattacharya's side failed to beat his former club when the two iconic teams from Bengal played out a thrilling 4-3 encounter.
The game is still considered to be one of the greatest ever in the history of the Derby and the controversy surrounding Bhattacharya's role in the fixture is still unforgivable in the eyes of the Bagan faithful.
#3 Racist comments on Bhaichung Bhutia?
The build-up towards games like these can be intriguing at times, to say the least. The Federation Cup semi-final clash between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan saw something similar in the form of a shameful racist comment on none other than Bhaichung Bhutia.
Amal Dutta, the then Mohun Bagan head coach, had a reputation of getting under the skin of his opponents before crucial games and he wasn't shy of banging the drums ahead of this crunch knockout game against arch-rivals East Bengal. Dutta called out to Bhutia as "Chung Chung" and also addressed Samuel Omollo, another East Bengal player, as "Omelette".
Despite all the mocking, Bhutia replied to the comments in style by scoring a second-half hat-trick in front of 131,000 people, who turned up to watch the game, becoming the first ever player to score a hat-trick in the Kolkata Derby. Arguably the greatest player India has ever produced.
#2 Aftermath of the 1975 IFA shield final
Arguably one of the greatest nights in the club's history was carved out of the agony of their rivals when East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan in the final of the 1975 IFA shield. The Red and Golds had pretty much dominated the Indian football scenarion in the 70's and were unbeaten in this particular fixture from 1969 to 1975.
They continued their domination over Bagan with a thumping 5-0 win in the final that helped them win a record fourth consecutive IFA shield victory. However, the events that followed shook Kolkata as the disappointed fans of a depleted Bagan side took to the streets to vent out their frustration.
The club was mobbed and trees were set on fire in the wake of their humiliating loss, and players were even afraid to step out of their houses. Bagan players Subrata Bhattacharya and Prasun Banerjee spent the night on a boat in the Ganges, to escape the hostile situation, and Umakanta Paladhi, an ardent supporter of the club, sadly committed suicide.
#1 The stone pelting incident
The I-League encounter between the two clubs at the Salt Lake Stadium in 2012 witnessed the dark side of the Derby and created huge tension among the players of both sides when a brick thrown from the stands hit Bagan defender Syed Rahim Nabi on the face, resulting in the game being called off by the officials due to violent conduct from the fans.
The incident gained traction when Odafa Okolie of Bagan was given the marching orders by the referee and soon the supporters in the stands lost their calm and started pelting stones towards the pitch. An unfortunate Nabi was stuck in the middle of the fiasco and had to get a few stitches on his face when he was hit by a brick and was taken to the hospital immediately after the incident.
As many as 40 people, including 20 policemen, were injured in the clash when the darkest hour in Indian club football history descended over the Salt Lake Stadium.
