#TFGtake - CFL's latest match fixing scandal calls into question the league and IFA's integrity

3 YEARS DOWN THE LINE, nothing has changed.

In September 2015, a serious match fixing allegation was rocking the Calcutta Football League. It involved two clubs in the Premier A Division, the highest tier in the CFL, fixing a match to rescue one club from a looming threat of relegation. The allegations went something like this: Southern Samity picked a weak team to help Tollygunge Agragami win and avoid relegation. But when Tollygunge players went overboard and scored 4 goals, the slighted Southern Samity officials confronted their Tollygunge counterparts, accusing them of "breach of trust." 

This happened within the clear earshot of some spectators and members of media. And to add to that, some Tollygunge players apparently went ahead and "apologised" to their opponents for the result.

This incident was all over local media for a few days. Utpal Ganguly, secretary of Indian Football Association (football governing body of West Bengal) even summoned representatives of both clubs to enquire about the matter. But then, not much happened. The match commissioner's report had no mention of it, and no official case was registered.

TFG's report on the subject, published exactly 3 years ago on the 5th of September, made a grim prediction that the way IFA were going about "investigating" the matter, it looked like a strong action was unlikely. And that's how it turned out.

In 2017, Tollygunge Agragami were caught up in yet another match fixing scandal. This time it was alleged that their match against Rainbow was "manipulated", and this time the tip came from FIFA-appointed anti-corruption watchdog Sportradar who had prior information about a potential fix in the match. They alerted the AIFF Integrity Officer about it.

Again, not much has come of it till now. And subsequently we've seen further match fixing allegations raised even at the national level, including the 2nd Division League and of course the high profile alleged attempted bribery of Minerva Punjab players, where MPFC owner Ranjit Bajaj even pointed the finger straight at East Bengal.

All those cases are yet to be resolved.

Jump ahead to today: a similar scandal is rocking Calcutta football. And once again, the IFA does not seem inclined to launch a wide investigation.

A week ago, News 18 Bangla released a recorded call where former Mohun Bagan, United SC and Southern Samity player Suraj Mandal was heard talking to a Tollygunge Agragami player about a limited form of match fixing. 

Mandal, who now plays for Behala ASS, was heard saying,

"You let go of one game, you will get Rs 1 lakh... you don't have to do it in all games, most games you play well... let's say your team is winning by two or three goals. That's okay, that won't count [in the fix]. After 75 minutes you will let in one goal, and that's what will count. That's how they bet. And no one will find out, no one will tell. They've been doing it for four years. Does anyone know? Did you know?"

The player on the other end, who eventually blew the whistle and handed over the recording to the media, listened patiently as Mandal went on, implicating others in an effort to convey that this was a common, widespread practice in the CFL,

"Deepak Mondal does it. Deepak Mondal's in this. You know who Deepak Mondal is?"

Deepak Mondal is not a small name to drop in this case. He is an Arjuna Awardee footballer. The right back played 47 matches for the national team and was in the thick of it when India fought their way into the Asian Cup 2011. He's played regularly for big clubs like JCT, East Bengal, Mahindra United, Mohun Bagan, United SC, Mumbai City FC and Southern Samity. At 38, he is at the tail end of his career, playing in the CFL for Food Corporation of India FC, where he has been playing the role of a mentor to young players as well. His plan, without doubt, is to become a coach. Having his name caught up in this match fixing allegation can end his chances of having a post-playing career in football.

Maybe the allegation is true, or maybe Suraj Mandal used his name just to make an impression on a young player. It won't be clear until we see the definite results of an investigation. Deepak Mondal, for his part, has recused himself from his club's practice sessions, and said he won't come back until this allegation against him, which he calls baseless, is proven false.

But the IFA is not moving in full pace, once again. The media has slowly moved on to other stories and this issue, too, is showing the signs of getting buried and forgotten, left unresolved.

Some fans and officials are even starting to downplay the significance of this matter. On social media, opinions like "they are not fixing the whole game so what's the big deal" are common. And most supporters, whose loyalties are centred around East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting, believe their own clubs to be unaffected by this, hence do not believe this scandal to be something of concern.

But here's where they are wrong: in CFL, more than any other league, 'limited fixing' can have a widespread effect.

Every season, the league sees a tight title race that goes on till the last week of the competition. Most of the time it's between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. It's commonplace for these arch rivals to be very close to each other in terms of points. And sometimes, they even end at par.

Just take the 2017 edition for example. Usually the Kolkata Derby serves as a tiebreaker between these two teams. But last year the CFL Derby was a draw and two clubs finished on the same number of points, and even had the same goal difference. East Bengal won the league because they score more goals.

So, it was a matter of scoring a couple more goals than the opponents that made a difference between winning or losing the league title. Now, consider for a moment Suraj Mandal's assertion that the 'limited fixing' racket has been active in CFL for the last 4 years. That opens the door to a possibility that some of the goals scored by these two clubs may have been "unclean." Which leads to a disturbing thought: could the fate of the CFL have been decided by goals that were orchestrated by corrupt players?

If it sounds far-fetched, consider that what we may be hearing from Suraj Mandal may be just the tip of the iceberg. Or the fact that tales of match fixing are commonplace in the Maidan grapevines, although rarely substantiated. In CFL's lower divisions, rumours about fixed matches occur so often that hardly anybody pays attention to them.

The fact that many people are downplaying the significance of this controversy surrounding Suraj Mandal only shows how desensitized they have become to recurring stories about match manipulation and outright fixing. A story about match fixing has to have immediate high stakes for them, and the authorities, to pay attention and take immediate action.

So, for their benefit, here's a breakdown of the stakes surrounding this fresh controversy:

Right now, the CFL title race is wide open. Just like last year, the Derby has ended in a draw. Both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are on 20 points from 8 matches, and they have the same goal difference (+13). Mohun Bagan are ahead only because they have scored 18 goals while East Bengal have scored 16. So the fate of this year's CFL will literally rely on who scores more goals in the remaining matches.

If there's even a slight chance that a manipulated goal might end either club's shot at winning the title, wouldn't that be considered an outrage for the fans? It's the very definition of being cheated out of a trophy.

But at the moment the IFA are once again dragging their feet. The officials are ambivalent. The fans are distracted by the latest flashy event that occurred in their club.

Whether the system itself is corrupt is a question that needs further probing. But it's definitely complacent enough that makes it easy for criminals to take advantage of it, and tarnish the league as well as the sport.