I-League 2017-18: Why are Mohun Bagan fans wearing Sony Norde masks at Derby? Find out

IN THE 2015-16 SEASON, when then Mohun Bagan head coach Sanjoy Sen was suspended by the AIFF, the fans protested his punishment in a unique way. At Barasat, they turned up wearing masks of Sanjoy Sen as the Mariners took on Mumbai FC.

Almost two years later, Mohun Bagan fans are once again taking a similar initiative. But this time not to protest anything, but to simply show solidarity to one of their most crucial players in recent times.

Sony Norde, the charismatic Haitian international who has been the lynchpin of Mohun Bagan attack for almost four seasons, got injured early in the I-League 2017-18. It was an injury on a bone that had taken knocks before, and this time it wasn't healing up.

When Norde sent scans and reports about the injury to a renowned sports doctor in Argentina, the reply was that his leg would not fully heal unless he underwent an operation. The date for that operation was set on 6th February.

This news meant that Sony Norde would not be able to play for the rest of the season. Just before the crucial Kolkata Derby, the Mariners lost their most dependable attacker. 

Sony went to the club officials, asked to be released because the club could use an extra foreigner in his place. And he refused to take the salary for the rest of the season. The club then offered to pay for his operation.

So, just before perhaps the season's most crucial game for Mohun Bagan, the fans lost their hero. But in order to wish him a speedy recovery and a fast return to the club, the Mohun Bagan fans, led by a fan group called Mariners' Base Camp (who also organized the Sanjoy Sen mask demonstration) are going to wear masks of Sony Norde.

Thousands of masks have been printed and they will be distributed among fans near the gates by members of Mariners Base Camp tomorrow as the Mariners take on their arch rivals East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium in a long anticipated Kolkata Derby match.

Sony Norde has an enviable record of never losing a Derby. Perhaps the Mohun Bagan fans are hoping that despite him not being on the pitch, his presence on the stands through the masks will carry over as a good luck charm.

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