With the footballers still to receive their dues for the last two months and sponsors UB Group refusing to renegotiate the existing agreement with the club, Mohun Bagan general secretary Anjan Mitra demanded that the court-appointed special officers convene a tripartite meeting immediately to sort out the imbroglio.
Regretting that the situation in the club is turning 'from bad to worse', Mitra said matters would be further compounded if the sponsors stop issuing cheques.
"They [the UB Group] are not at all happy with the developments. My understanding is that if the situation does not improve they may even stop issuing cheques," Mitra said on Wednesday, after returning to Kolkata after attending the club's board meeting in Delhi.
Expressing dismay at the Special Officers' insistence on redrawing the 1998 agreement between the club and the UB Group, Mitra said it was decided at the first meeting between the club and the executive committee that all previous terms and conditions would be adhered to.
"Our coffers are empty. The players have not got their salary for the last two months. The special officers should immediately convene a tripartite meeting, where the executive committee and sposors can sit with them and try to thrash out a solution," he said.
The 114-year old club has been going through tough times for the last few months due to factional feuds, culminating in the Calcutta High Court clipping the wings of the executive committee, in May, by appointing three special officers for overseeing football affairs.
The executive committee was ordered to work under the guidance of the three-member panel.
The dispute rocked the board meeting in Delhi, where the UB Group asked the feuding factions to resolve the dispute amicably.
In a media statement, UB Group chief Vijay Mallya yesterday refused to renegotiate or amend the agreements, alleging that 'members of the club' had started "pursuing their vested interests challenging the authority of the office-bearers who signed the agreements".
Internal bickerings in the club reached another flash point last week with the ruling group deciding to seek the Supreme Court's intervention to pave the way for elections which have been repeatedly put on hold for the last 10-12 years.
