Mohun Bagan refuses to release players for India camp, cites injury risks

Indian Super League champion Mohun Bagan has refused to release its players for the ongoing national camp in Bengaluru, accusing the All India Football Federation (AIFF) of “injury neglect” and stressing that release is not mandatory outside a FIFA window.

The senior India squad began preparations on August 15 for next month’s CAFA Nations Cup, but 13 players, including seven from Mohun Bagan, have yet to report. The missing Mariners are Anirudh Thapa, Deepak Tangri, Lalengmawia, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, and Vishal Kaith. The club has also withheld four U-23 players—Dippendu Biswas, Suhail Bhat, Priyansh Dubey, and T. Abhishek Singh—who were called up for AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers in Qatar.

Mohun Bagan cited its AFC Champions League Two opener against Turkmenistan’s Ahal FC on September 16 as a priority, while pointing to repeated player injuries from national duty. Officials highlighted the case of skipper Subhasish Bose, injured in March during India’s Asian Cup qualifier, who remains sidelined without AIFF follow-up or compensation.

“Every time they take our players, several return injured, and the AIFF does not communicate or compensate,” a club official told PTI, adding that the club cannot risk further setbacks.

The federation, in contrast, thanked Jamshedpur FC for releasing coach Khalid Jamil “in the national interest” and appealed for cooperation from clubs.

Mohun Bagan qualified directly for the AFC Champions League Two group stage as ISL League Shield winners, with matches lined up against Ahal FC, Iran’s Sepahan SC, and Jordan’s Al Hussein.

Meanwhile, FC Goa, also in the group stage, has released four players, Hrithik Tiwari, Boris Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, and Udanta Singh, to the India camp.