 "Mohun Bagan Super Giants had said they would boycott the derby against East Bengal due to high ticket prices. PTI")
Bowing to pressure and boycott threat from Mohun Bagan fans , arch-rivals East Bengal announced that any “discrepancies in ticket pricing” for the high-profile Kolata Derby on Sunday will be “corrected”.
The announcement came a day after Mohun Bagan general secretary Debasish Dutta called for an “official boycott” from the fans, citing disparity in ticket pricing.
However, after discussions with the state sports minister Aroop Biswas, East Bengal management did a course correction only 48 hours prior to the fixture.
“Any discrepancies in ticket pricing for the derby match (on Sunday) will be corrected with immediate effect,” East Bengal director Sandeep Agarwal, who represents principal owners Emami, said in a statement.
He promised that there will be a uniform cost for spectators for the derby in the future. “Going forward, uniform pricing will be implemented for all attendees of this highly anticipated event,” he added.
As per the tickets listed on BookMyShow, the prices earlier ranged from Rs 100 to Rs 1000 for East Bengal stands, while for rivals Mohun Bagan it varied from Rs 250 to Rs 3000.
Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have opposite stands at the 68,000-capacity Salt Lake Stadium for seamless organisation and the home team retains the prerogative to determine the ticket price.
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View AllEast Bengal are the home team for the fixture on Sunday and the ticket-pricing was determined by principal owners Emami Limited. Citing that such “practices are commonplace worldwide”, Emami East Bengal further pointed to Mohun Bagan’s similar strategy on 3 February, where “discounts” were offered to their “devoted fans”.
“In line with promoting transparency, we also introduced a discount structure on our ticket prices,” Agarwal added.
“Regrettably, this initiative inadvertently caused confusion among football enthusiasts. In light of this, and in consideration of the sentiments of our dedicated football community, as well as following constructive discussions with the Honourable Sports Minister, we have taken the decision as indicated hereafter.”