Calcutta: Southern Samity gave a walkover to Railway FC in a CFL Premier Division A match on Friday and it will be very interesting to see if they play again this season.
The reason? There is a tussle going on between president Ratan Dey and secretary Sourav Pal, and that has resulted in non-payment of salaries to the 29 players registered by the club and the support staff. The players are so upset that they refused to play on Friday.
"It's very unlikely that we will play again in CFL this year. Things have gone from bad to worse," said coach Hemanta Dora.
Captain Dipankar Roy said: "We have only received 10 per cent of our salary in this ongoing season. And the cheques which we had received bounced."
Southern Samity players are caught between a bitter feud between Dey and Pal. And the fight has become so bitter that even state sports minister Aroop Biswas had to intervene. After Biswas managed to pacify the warring factions, Southern Samity built a team just in time before the CFL began. But again, things took an ugly turn when the cheques bounced. In fact, the players had also refused to take the field against East Bengal back on August 23, but relented after much persuasion.
Pal alleged that Dey has siphoned off Rs 50 lakh, which the state government had given to smaller clubs playing in the CFL. "Our president is not being able to tell us where has the money gone," he said.
Dey, however, denied the allegations. "I had requested the footballers to play against Railways FC. I am trying my best to organise the moneys.
"Well, if they do not play any matches, then we will have to find a solution. Before the CFL started, they were saying they won't play. But after I sought sports minister's intervention, Southern Samity agreed to play.
"Now I will again try to convince them. Let's see," was IFA secretary Utpal Ganguli's take.
<> "Since they gave the walkover without intimating the parent body, the matter would now go to the disciplinary committee," secretary Utpal Ganguli said. It seems darker days are ahead for Southern Samity.
