The Maidan’s ‘Big Three’ — Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Emami East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting — have requested the Durand Cup organisers and the state government not to move the knockout round matches of the tournament outside
the city.

Mohun Bagan general secretary Debasish Dutta and his East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting counterparts, Rupak Saha and Ishtiaque Ahmed respectively, held a media conference at the Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club on Tuesday to put forward the request to the tournament authorities and the state sports, youth services and power minister Aroop Biswas.

It was on Sunday that the supporters of these three clubs staged a protest outside and in the vicinity of the Salt Lake Stadium against the cancellation of the Durand Cup derby between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. They had also demonstrated against the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital incident.

“Precisely, the request from us is that all the remaining matches of this Durand Cup — quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final — be held here in Calcutta. All the knockout matches be held here,” Mohammedan Sporting’s Ishtiaque told The Telegraph after the joint news conference.

“To what extent our request will be considered depends on the authorities. But we have had some sort of an assurance from the Durand committee and Aroop Biswas that at least the semi-finals and the title decider will not be shifted from here,” the Mohammedan Sporting general secretary added.

According to Durand committee sources, the semi-finals and the final, as scheduled earlier, will be held in the city. “No chance of the quarter-finals returning to Calcutta,” said one of them. The first two matches of the last-eight stage are scheduled to be played on Wednesday, in Kokrajhar and Shillong.

The RG Kar protests have spilled over to the Calcutta Football Division League games as well. Some East Bengal players displayed the “We want justice for RG Kar” message (written on a club jersey) on the sidelines of their 2-0 win over Rainbow AC at home on Tuesday.

Asked about the matter, Debabrata Sarkar, a senior official at East Bengal who was also present at Tuesday’s media conference, said it was “up to the players concerned”.

Fifa rules say that the players’ “equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images.”