Kolkata: Peeved at their Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey’s conduct, Mohammedan Sporting are set to issue him a showcause notice on Tuesday, a club official said on Monday.
“We’re all pained to see the way he behaved. Being a senior player, it really sets a bad precedent. What he did that day was beyond our imagination. We’ll show cause him,” football secretary Iqbal Ahmed said.
A wasteful Ozbey was replaced by coach Abdul Aziz Moshood after the break in the I-League match against Dempo and the Australian showed dissent by not turning up to sit in the bench.
At the practice on Monday, he he did not sit alongside Abdul Aziz, further hurting the Nigerian coach.
“Despite the high reputation that Ozbey has, the club would not hesitate to take disciplinary action against him,” Ahmed said.
Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa also faced a similar quandary with Odafa Okolie’s listless show, only in this case the Moroccan was fully backing the struggling forward.
Their biggest humiliation after the derby defeat to East Bengal came on Sunday with a loss to qualifiers Rangdajied United FC 0-2 and they are yet to win from five outings and are now 11th in the 13-team table.
Under severe criticism, Bencherifa, however, said it was not the time to quit and escape the situation.
“I take the full responsibility, but that does not mean I’ve to escape from the situation,” Bencherifa said.
Giving full support to Odafa, Bencherifa said, “He is doing well, but unfortunately for us opposition goalkeepers are coming out with something special. The players need to be motivated at this hour.” (PTI)