There has been considerable confusion around the Asian Football Confederation’s sanctions on Mohun Bagan Super Giant, with the prevailing assumption being that the club has been handed a blanket multi-year ban from continental competition.
That reading, while understandable, is inaccurate. What the AFC has imposed is more calculated and in many ways more severe in sporting terms.
Mohun Bagan have effectively been handed a one-season competitive ban, but one that remains valid until the 2027–28 season, ensuring that the punishment must be served whenever the club next qualifies for an AFC competition .
In short, the ban is not calendar-based. It is qualification-triggered.
What the ruling actually says
Following Mohun Bagan’s withdrawal from the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Two after the group stage had already begun, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee ruled that the club had violated Article 5 of the competition regulations. The committee disqualified the club from AFC competitions “up to and including the 2027–28 season”, alongside imposing heavy financial penalties.
That phrasing is crucial. The AFC has not barred Mohun Bagan for three straight seasons by default. Instead, it has ensured that the club cannot return to Asian football without first sitting out one qualified season. This distinction matters because it removes any possibility of the ban expiring quietly without sporting consequence.
Scenario one: Qualification in 2026–27
If Mohun Bagan qualify for continental competition in the 2026–27 season, the ban will be enforced immediately.
In that case:
- Mohun Bagan qualify through domestic performance
- The AFC disqualification applies that season
- The club is barred from participation
- The ban is considered served
- Eligibility is restored from 2027–28 onwards
This is the cleanest outcome. One qualification. One enforced absence. Then a return.
Scenario two: No qualification in 2026–27, but qualification in 2027–28
If Mohun Bagan fail to qualify in 2026–27, the ban does not disappear. It remains dormant.
Should the club then qualify in 2027–28, the ban will be enforced that season. Only after sitting out that edition will Mohun Bagan be allowed back into AFC competitions. This is precisely why the sanction extends “up to and including” 2027–28. The AFC has deliberately structured the punishment to prevent the club from avoiding it through poor domestic performance.
Scenario three: Failure to qualify until after 2027–28
If Mohun Bagan do not qualify for any AFC competition before the end of the 2027–28 cycle, the ban technically expires. However, in practical terms, the club would already have spent multiple seasons outside continental football achieving the AFC’s objective of imposing a tangible sporting cost.
Either way, the message is clear: one Asian season will be lost.
Why the AFC chose this structure
This is not an accidental or ambiguous ruling. The AFC has increasingly moved towards sanctions that are sporting-impact driven rather than time-driven, especially in cases involving post-draw or post-group withdrawals.
A simple two-year ban could have allowed Mohun Bagan to escape punishment entirely if they failed to qualify during that window. By tying the ban to qualification, the AFC ensured that:
- The penalty cannot be nullified by circumstance
- The club must forfeit a real competitive opportunity
- The deterrent value of the sanction is preserved
In governance terms, this is a hard-line but coherent approach.
The broader cost for Indian football
While the ruling directly affects Mohun Bagan, its consequences extend beyond one club.
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Mohun Bagan are among India’s most consistent performers domestically. A forced absence from Asia whenever it occurs will impact, India’s AFC club coefficient points & exposure of Indian players to elite continental competition along with financial inflows linked to participation fees and matchday revenues
At a time when Indian football is already grappling with structural and commercial uncertainty, losing a continental berth carries real weight.
What this means going forward
The practical takeaway is simple but uncomfortable for Mohun Bagan supporters. This ban cannot be avoided.
•Qualify next season → serve the ban
•Qualify the season after → serve the ban
•Fail to qualify → remain absent from Asia anyway
From the AFC’s perspective, the punishment is precise, enforceable, and immune to loopholes. From Mohun Bagan’s standpoint, it leaves the club operating under a continental shadow until one season is formally sacrificed.
It is not a three-year exile.
But it is a one-year absence with no escape clause. And in Asian football, that distinction makes all the difference.
