Football News: East Bengal ready to play in Kashmir, if forced

On a day the All India Football Federation made it clear that East Bengal’s rescheduled match against Real Kashmir would be held on schedule, the city club has requested the game’s parent body to postpone it further in view of the recent terrorist attack in the north Indian state. “We want football to continue in Jammu and Kashmir. But in our opinion, situation is not normal in the state to stage a game. We want to play in Kashmir, but is it absolute necessary to hold the match as per schedule? Can it not be postponed until the situation gets normal there? Can football be bigger than human life?” East Bengal official Debabrate Sarkar said. However, the club also said that they will try to convince the players and coach if they are forced to play there, but still request it to put off the game to a later date. The match which was originally scheduled to be held on February 10 was postponed to February 28 because of inclement weather. However, following last Friday’s terrorist attack, which killed at least 40 CRPF paramilitary troopers, Minerva refused to travel to Srinagar and gave their match against Real Kashmir on Sunday a no-show. The defending champions have also moved Delhi High Court against AIFF’s refusal to postpone that match.