Douglas da Silva arrives at the East Bengal tent on Tuesday to meet the club secretary. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: East Bengal have found an amicable solution to the problem involving Douglas da Silva. The Brazilian midfielder — asked to show cause for refusing to play the last three matches of the season — has agreed to play the last game and escaped disciplinary action.

Douglas met the club secretary on Tuesday evening and “explained his problems”. That done, he agreed to play the last match of the season — the AFC Cup fixture against Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia on May 18.

Of course, his inclusion in the team for that match is subject to the coach’s approval.

“It was a communication problem and Douglas said he is sorry for that. We won’t take action against him,” said the club secretary.

Douglas said he is willing to extend his association with the club, though details of a new contract are yet to be worked out.

The club secretary, meanwhile, has appealed to the fans to “donate” money to counter the club’s spiralling expenses, since the amount coming from sponsors Kingfisher is not enough.

East Bengal will play their final National Football League match against Haywards Sporting in Goa on Wednesday. The champions have 46 points from 21 matches and will equal the record tally they had set last year if they win this tie.

East Bengal will be without Nigerian star Mike Okoro, who got a red card in the 0-1 defeat against Churchill Brothers in their previous match. Bhaichung Bhutia and Surkumar Singh will return after missing that game due to suspension.

Haywards do have something to play for. They are eyeing full points, which will help them finish sixth and earn Rs 3 lakh in prize money. They are currently placed eighth with 27 points.

There is some motivation for East Bengal striker Cristiano Junior as well. The Brazilian needs two goals to overtake Yusif Yakubu as the highest scorer. He has so far scored 13 goals, one less than Yakubu.

Apart from Okoro and Douglas, East Bengal will also miss Alvito D’Cunha, who has a hamstring strain. Coach Subhas Bhowmick will thus have to use some of his reserve players.

So, Haywards may fancy their chances. For goals, the Goan outfit will look up to Dudu Omagbemi and Abdulateef Seriki, as they have done all through the season.