Hundreds of Mohun Bagan fans held a “Remove ATK” protest in front of the club gates and club secretary Debashish Dutta’s residence, while the hashtag Goenka Out trends on Social Media
The Mariners are furious with Sanjiv Goenka who leads KGSPL, the majority shareholders of the 133-year-old football club.
Why Is Goenka Out Trending On Twitter As Mohun Bagan Fans Protest Against Club Owner Sanjiv Goenka Of KGSPL
Hashtag “Goenka Out” Trends On Social Media, Mohun Bagan Fans Hold “Remove ATK” Protest In Front Of Club Gates And Club Secretary Debashish Dutta’s Residence
Befitting reply by Mariners United Forum with specific demands within specific timeline. These are indeed the actual words of genuine Mohun Bagan fans at this moment. #GoenkaOut #Shame #BoycottATKMBmatch #BreakTheMerger pic.twitter.com/88vLZAzROw
— The Mariners' (@MohunBaganFans) October 11, 2022
In a surprise move, Mohun Bagan fans gheraoed the residence of Mohun Bagan General Secretary Mr. Debasish Dutta in protest of ATK not being removed before this #ISL. it is told that similar demonstrations may be organised in front of other top official's residence too. pic.twitter.com/NFWM0TS0pT
— The Mariners' (@MohunBaganFans) October 9, 2022
The Executive Committee of Mohun Bagan Club condemns yesterday's fan's protest terming it as unlawful, undemocratic, unjustified and Violent ( 😳) also.
However, they have agreed that it is indeed a MERGER. First time, MB has officially accepted it .. Good. #BreakTheMerger pic.twitter.com/nOOjZsXFn8
— The Mariners' (@MohunBaganFans) October 10, 2022
Fans started getting annoyed with the group when they branded their deal with Mohun Bagan as a “merger of two clubs”.
The group added the brand prefix ‘ATK’ to the team’s name, which is in reference to the defunct franchise Atletico de Kolkata.
KGSPL Has Some Explaining To Do
KGSPL has made several self-contradictory claims about the team’s identity in recent times. In some occasions, the group has called it a “merged club” born in 2020.
In other occasions, KGSPL have referred to the club as a continuation of the defunct ATK FC, calling it a “defending ISL champion”. Although they abandoned it after much protests from fans.
However, when the Prime Minister and Chief Minister congratulated Mohun Bagan on their I-League title, KGSPL Chairman Sanjiv Goenka quickly took the credit.
He claimed that the team is Mohun Bagan with a re-branded name and the team plays with Mohun Bagan’s registration.
Mohun Bagan fans have protested against the attack on their club’s identity in the last 2 years. Despite KGSPL banning club flags and banners during the AFC Cup 2022, the protests continued.
When some fans snuck in their flags and banners anyway, the management directed police personal to the galleries to take down the banners.
Fans Experience False Hopes
Fans were initially beaming with high hopes for a peaceful resolution when Mohun Bagan officials spoke in favour of the ‘Remove ATK’ movement and assured the fans that they were in talks with KGSPL to sort the matter.
In fact, KGSPL themselves took multiple steps which showed that they would remove the controversial “ATK” prefix.
According to some leaks from within KGSPL, the group initially considered three new names for the team – Mohun Bagan FC, Mohun Bagan Super Giants and Mohun Bagan Mariners.
The investors opted for the second option and the company acquired the @MohunBaganSG twitter account 14th August. On the same day, the group also registered the domain name mohunbagansupergiants dot com.
All these name-changing rumours appeared in every major Bengali newspaper, as well as some national outlets.
The moves came just before the team’s Durand Cup 2022 and AFC Cup matches in Kolkata. It had a calming effect on the Mohun Bagan fans’ protests.
However, right after the matches concluded, KGSPL backtracked and did not undergo the prefix removal process.
This triggered Mohun Bagan fans to go against the Sanjiv Goenka-led company claiming they had betrayed the club.
#Goenka Out Mohun Bagan Fans Hold Protests
Mohun Bagan fans are now calling for KGSPL’s departure from Mohun Bagan. The hashtag ‘#GoenkaOut’ is trending every day for the past couple of weeks on Twitter.
Yesterday, some fans organised a protest in front of the club gates. Police officers barricaded the whole area in front of the club gate when the fans showed up to protest.
But the protest was merely a diversion. While some of the fans kept raising slogans in Gostha Pal Sarani, others went over club secretary Debashish Dutta’s residence.
The fans there raised slogans calling for Dutta’s resignation. Debashish Dutta, earlier whoplayed a significant role in calming the fans down during the summer.
He assured them on multiple locations that management were working to remove the prefix and safeguard Mohun Bagan’s identity.
Tensions Are Rising
The protest outside Dutta’s residence is the first time Mohun Bagan fans have singled out a club official’s residence for a peaceful protest. It signals a level of desperation and anger previously unseen.
Following the events, the tension between the management team and Mohun Bagan fans are now constantly rising.
Recently, the club decided not to participate in the Calcutta Football League. They did this despite their arch -rivals East Bengal as well as Mohammedan Sporting, the other major club from Kolkata, are playing in the state league as promised.
Media reports suggest that the decision came because management were apprehensive of ‘Remove ATK’ protests disrupting matches in the Mohun Bagan Ground. The ground is more difficult to contain unruly fans than the Salt Lake Stadium.
Just last month, when the team was scheduled to play a friendly match with Chennaiyin FC, the management banned regular fans from attending the game. They only allowed entry only to card-holding members.
Supporters however, showed up outside the stadium and held protests in front of the team bus as the players arrived.
However, the match got cancelled due to waterlogging from heavy rain.
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