East Bengal exit: supporters pour frustration, verbally abuse players and coach Morgan

SCENES TURNED UGLY at the Barasat Stadium after East Bengal got knocked out of the Federation Cup by Shillong Lajong. 

The East Bengal supporters, frustrated with their team's early exit from the Cup which brought about a premature end to their season, vented their anger by verbally abusing some of the players and raising slogans against them.

There were "go back" slogans raised against the newly appointed coach Trevor James Morgan, under whom the Red and Golds played 3 matches - all against Shillong Lajong - and failed to win a single one of them. Although the officials were not thinking about removing Morgan and he is likely to be at the helm when East Bengal begin their 2016-17 season with the Calcutta Football League campaign in August, the British coach made it clear that he was not happy with the way things stood at the dressing room. Indicating there may be major changes coming to the Red and Golds' composition, he said in the post-match press conference,

"We had 11 players playing for us tonight, not a team."

Bernard Mendy, who played half the season for East Bengal and came on for the second half of the game, got the worst of it. The supporters abused him using unspeakable words, and even racially abused him. At one point Mendy lost his cool, ran up to the barrier between the stands and the pitch, and yelled back at the fans using equally harsh language. 

The ugly scene became a possible bitter final chapter in Mendy's short relationship with East Bengal. He is unlikely to come back next season.