AFC Cup: Mohun Bagan's home game against Bangladesh's Bashundhara Kings in doubt due to visa issues

Kolkata: Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s home AFC Cup group match against Bashundhara Kings in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday has been rendered uncertain as the Bangladesh club is yet to arrive in India due to visa issues. Tournament guidelines mandate that an away team must reach two days in advance but the players of the Bangladesh side are still in Dhaka after failing to get visas. The Dhaka club wanted a double-entry visa because it has to play two matches in India but the AIFF had given an invitation for single entry, for which the national federation, according to sources, cannot be faulted. Bashundhara’s second match is against Odisha FC on 11 December, a good 50 days after the match against Mohun Bagan. The AIFF later gave an invitation for a double-entry visa on 20 September. However, the appointment date for the visa was scheduled for 1 November, according to the president of the club Mohammad Imrul Hassan. “We have already booked our tickets and the flight is on 22 October 2023 at 10.15 am which was informed to all parties in due time,” Hassan said in a letter to the Asian Football Confederation’s Disciplinary and Ethics Committee. “Our accommodation is also booked. All these bookings were made with advance payment and now it is not possible to change them so as to have a new set of tickets of such high volume is unlikely at the late stage.” Mohun Bagan, who are leading Group D with two wins in as many matches, will keep their date and reach Bhubaneswar on Monday morning. “We will turn up at the ground, if they forfeit the match we will get a walkover and three goals as per the rules,” a team official told PTI. Mohun Bagan’s match is slated for a 9.30pm kick-off on Tuesday, the second match of the day after Odisha’s fixture against Maziya of Maldives(5.30pm). Mohun Bagan’s away match against Bashundhara Kings is scheduled for 7 November. Bashundhara also have a home match against Maziya on 27 November. Third-placed Bashundhara have three points from two matches to lie behind Maziya on goal difference.