I-League 2017-18: Ugly face of hooliganism pops up again; 8 East Bengal fans arrested following brawl

EIGHT EAST BENGAL FANS have been arrested by Kolkata Police for untoward incidents following the club's I-League clash with Aizawl FC at Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata last night.

In the match where East Bengal were held to a high voltage 2-2 draw by the defending champions, an increasing amount of gestures and objectionable curse words were exchanged between some home fans and away fans who were sitting in adjacent sections. After the match when everybody was stepping out, some East Bengal fans and a couple of Aizawl FC fans got involved in pushing and shoving. The civic volunteers and policemen nearby as well as some other East Bengal fans intervened to mitigate the situation and the opposing fan groups were separated. There are no reports of anyone suffering injuries from that altercation.

Following this, the visiting Aizawl FC fans were safely escorted to the nearby Mizoram house by policemen as well as members of the East Bengal Real Power fan group, who had been operating a helpline for visiting fans and rushed in when they got wind of the incident.

But the miscreant East Bengal fans got into a larger brawl with the security personnel which resulted in some civic volunteers and policemen being assaulted by the hooligans. The police immediately launched an enquiry into who the miscreants were and subsequently arrested 8 East Bengal fans suspected of being involved in the incident.

The police arrests shows a new tougher approach that the law enforcement is taking to counter football hooliganism in the city, with incidents of brawls and property damage as a result of fights between groups of rival fans going up in the recent past, especially between supporters of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.

It remains to be seen what punishment the alleged hooligans are subjected to; there are indications that the law enforcement may use this incident to set an example to dissuade future violators.

The incident has renewed calls from fans in Kolkata who support the profiling of known football hooligans and banning them from stadiums for life, a system followed in many European and Asian countries.

Get the latest in the world of Sports, Teams, and Players! Free Delivery to your Inbox.