India lifts ban on oldest football club

MUMBAI (REUTERS) - India's oldest football club Mohun Bagan, who were banned after refusing to take the field for the second half of their derby against East Bengal, have won their appeal to be reinstated into the national league on Tuesday.

But they will have to forego all their points in the season. They have also been fined INR20 million (S$449,000).

The All India Football Federation last month threw the Kolkata-based club out of the national league and banned them for a further two years. Mohun Bagan were trailing their arch-rivals 1-0 on Dec 9 when one of their players was hit by a stone hurled from the stands.

The match resumed after a near 15-minute interruption but Mohun Bagan, founded in 1889, did not return to the field.

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