The referee made the correct decisions – East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan

The trouble at the Salt Lake Stadium that eventually couldn’t complete the Big Kolkata Derby on Sunday will overshadow a solid first-half performance from East Bengal as the red-and-gold brigade went in front thanks to a header from Harmanjot Khabra and looked well set to close the gap at top of the I-League table to one point.

However, coach Trevor Morgan was asked very few questions about his team’s display at the post-match press conference and was instead asked to comment on the ugly scenes and Mohun Bagan’s refusal to play the second half.

Morgan, though, didn’t want to get into any controversy and thus didn’t make any comments. When he was asked whether he would have done the same thing had he been in Bencherifa’s place, he said, “I know very well what I would have done but I can’t tell you for professional reasons.”

Unlike his Mohun Bagan counterpart however, Morgan didn’t find anything wrong with the refereeing.

“The referee made the correct decisions. I am being honest here, he even refereed some of our Federation Cup games and I believe then also he was quite fair like today,” the Englishman said.

The former Hull City developmental coach admitted that thousands of fans have been let down by the fact that the match wasn’t completed and instead marred by the riots inside and outside the stadium.

“It’s a shame (that the match couldn’t be completed). Today there were many people who didn’t even had their meal but came to watch the match and they were denied a game they deserved.”