On 16 August 1980, the Eden Garden witnessed the darkest day of this rivalry when the two teams had squared off for a Calcutta Football League match.
A National Football League match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in Calcutta, 10 April 2001. AFP
The Kolkata Derby has been a historic rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, two of the oldest and most prestigious clubs in India. The clash between Bangal-Ghoti is the pinnacle of Asian football rivalries. It has also been considered part of FIFA’s Classic Rivalries.
On 16 August 1980, the Eden Garden witnessed the darkest day of this rivalry when they squared off for a Calcutta Football League match. On that day, a total of 16 fans lost their lives due to mayhem in the stands.
Coming to the match, Compton Dutta captained Mohun Bagan while Satyajit Mitra led the East Bengal team. Dilip Palit, who started for East Bengal as an atypical right-back, fouled Bidesh Bose, however, referee Sudhin Chatterjee chose not to show Dilip Palit a card.
A similar incident occurred in the second half in the 57th minute when Bidesh Ranjan Bose retaliated. As a result, Sudhin Chatterjee chose to send off the Mohun Bagan left winger, but again Dilip Palit escaped punishment. Later, he gave Dilip Palit marching orders to balance his previous decision. As a result, the supporters of the two teams became disoriented.
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In order to prevent violence, both clubs’ fans are typically required to sit in different galleries during each Kolkata Derby. Unfortunately, there was no segregation and no police protection that day so the fans were compelled to sit together. As the brawl started, the young supporters rushed off the gallery onto the concrete floors to rescue themselves.
So many people sought to escape through the stadium’s small gates, which caused a stampede. Unavoidably, lives were lost as a result. The injured and deceased were brought to adjacent hospitals. As per police reports, about 100 people suffered serious injuries, and at least 16 fans lost their lives. Both teams suffered stiff consequences and all of the scheduled matches were called off.
People who frequented Kolkata Maidan to watch ‘Calcutta Football League’ games were completely shocked by this tragedy, and they abruptly stopped coming after it occurred. Bengal football had lost its zeal, and it took nearly 20 years to recover until Yuva Bharati Krirangan (Saltlake Stadium) witnessed a record-breaking attendance of 1,31,000 in the 1997 Federation Cup.
In memory of those 16 football fans, Football Lovers’ Day is observed annually on 16 August by the Indian Football Association. In 1981, the first memorial service saw 1203 donors donating their blood in tribute to those football lovers. As a tribute to the unfortunate people who died on this tragic day, Suparnakanti Ghosh wrote the song ‘Khela Football Khela’, which was sung by the great singer Manna Dey.
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Source: https://www.firstpost.com/sports/on-this-day-in-1980-kolkata-derby-turned-bloody-as-16-fans-lost-lives-at-eden-gardens-11053751.html
