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Mohun Bagan have said that they won’t release players for national camp, citing AIFF’s neglect of injuries.
Anirudh Thapa is one of the Mohun Bagan footballers who have been called up for the national camp (Picture credit: AIFF)
Indian Super League champions Mohun Bagan have straightaway refused to release their footballers for the ongoing national camp, slamming the All India Football Federation for neglecting the injuries of players representing the national team, according to a report in PTI.
The senior India team started its preparatory camp in Bengaluru on August 15 ahead of September’s CAFA Nations Cup, but 13 footballers, including seven from Mohun Bagan, are yet to join the camp.
Midfielder Anirudh Thapa, Deepak Tangri, Lalengmawia, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad and goalkeeper Vishal Kaith are yet to report for the national camp from Mohun Bagan. Manvir is reportedly nursing an injury and hence can’t join.
The aforementioned footballers’ absence was attributed to the team’s Durand Cup commitments. But even after Mohun Bagan crashed out with a 1-2 Derby loss to East Bengal in the quarters in Kolkata on Sunday, August 17, the club has stood firm, citing their upcoming AFC Champions League 2 opener against Turkmenistan’s Ahal FC at Salt Lake Stadium on September 16.
Hitting out at AIFF, a Mariners official pointed to the case of captain Subhasish Bose, who has been sidelined since suffering an injury during India’s Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh in March.
“Every time they take our players, three or four of them return injured and the AIFF is least bothered to communicate, compensate, or even check on them,” the official said while speaking to PTI.
“Look at Bose… He is under rehab, has missed the entire season so far, we are paying his salary and yet the federation has not even called once to inquire about him,” the official added.
Mohun Bagan have denied the release of four youngsters as well, Dippendu Biswas, Suhail Bhat, Priyansh Dubey and T Abhishek Singh, who are with the India U-23 team preparing for September’s AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers in Qatar.
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