JOIN US A day before they square off against Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava stadium in a crucial I-League tie, the visiting East Bengal side were involved in a verbal feud with the local authorities before their training session here on Saturday.
The visiting side, scheduled to train at the Kanteerava at 10.00 am on Saturday, reached the stadium an hour early, creating inconvenience to the ground staff who were busy getting the ground ready for the big tie. They were denied access to the pitch before the scheduled time, leading to a spat between the East Bengal team manager Alvito D'Cunha and the authorities.
“Whatever happened was very bad. You need to treat guests with respect,” said D'Cunha.
Though he agreed that it was a mistake to advance the team’s training time without a written intimation to the organisers, D'Cunha stated the team arrived at the venue only after they received a verbal conformation from BFC’s team manager Premankur Barua. “Yes, it was a mistake. but I had a word with Mr Barua and he said there would be no problem in advancing it,” he added.
However, the Bengaluru team management was quick to dismiss any such claims. “Is there any communication to prove (that he called Barua )? It doesn't work like that,” asked Mandar Tamane, Chief Technical Officer, BFC.
“That’s his opinion. Barua is not the qualified person. The guys to be contacted are the LGC (Local General Co-ordinator) and the LMO (Local Media Officer). We sent an e-mail two days ago with the timings. If they had problems, they should have answered to that mail,” he added.