Game of passing the buck

March 25: Mere ko thoda dekhna boss (Don't forget my case), says the official. The player, obviously thrilled at the prospect of joining a big club, understands what it means. He obliges by giving a certain slice of the advance amount the day he signs on the dotted line for the club. It's commission or, in Maidan parlance, 'cut money'. The money changes hands in hard cash, which means it can't be tracked to its source.
Welcome to the dark underbelly of Kolkata football.A place, where officials and their sidekicks thrive on 'cut money'; where the target is young and desperate footballers dreaming of making a name for themselves by playing in a big club.
Sample this: Five years back, when a young footballer from North India joined a Kolkata-based club, he was given Rs 50,000 in cash as an advance. Out of that he had to shell out Rs 20,000 to a side-kick of a top official as his 'cut'.
"I was new to the city and didn't have an iota of knowledge about how the system works; I had no other option but to oblige him. That was the first and last time I coughed up a commission," the player, who refused to be named, told ToI.
"They also catch hold of Bengali players plying their trade in Goa or Mumbai or any other place. I know a goalkeeper who gave a certain per cent of his signing amount because he wanted to be part of the East Bengal team in 2003, the year the red-and-golds won the Asean Cup in Jakarta," another player added.
Most of the sidekicks also happen to be insurance agents and do other odd jobs for money. In Mohun Bagan, one Somnath Pal, who claims to be Jose Ramirez Barreto's confidante in Kolkata, allegedly charges money to have passport and other documents done for the players. "Even after months, Bijoy Basfore is still waiting for his PAN card," a friend of Basfore alleged.
"He (Pal) is also an insurance agent and forces us to buy policies," a player alleges. The unsaid rule is these officials don't play truant with senior players. "They can't afford to. Because once you know the game you can tackle this menace," a senior player told ToI. So how does the system work in case of an Indian player?
Suppose you have a 20-lakh deal for one year with, say, Mohun Bagan, and you ask for 80 per cent as advance, you get it after the TDS (which is now around 5 per cent). The balance amount is paid to the player as salary in 12 months.
"So, there is no chance of shelling out of any commission and everything is in white," the player said.
That means, unlike in the case of foreign players, TDS is not an issue. The contract paper is. It may be recalled that two years back, when Subhas Bhowmick tried to lure away a host of players from East Bengal to Mohammedan Sporting, the contract papers became a big issue.
That finally the red-and-golds managed to evoke the clauses in the contract and win back most of the players - with, of course, some subtle help from the IFA and a generous dose of irresponsible handling of the affair by the Sporting officials, is a fair indication of how 'powerful' that piece of paper can turn out to be.
There are certain clauses which always have players cribbing, but they can do little about them. One of them says that if the player is injured, irregular at practice sessions or cannot perform at the desired level, his contract will be terminated. If you are smart enough like, say, Baichung Bhutia, you can remove such a clause.
Or else, you are simply at the mercy of these club officials.
On the wrong side of the law
* In 1969, Chuni Goswami and PK Banerjee were detained by the Customs for forex violation. The duo was travelling to Tokyo on a FIFA coaching assignment. They were released after paying the fine and intervention from highly-placed officials.
* Two years ago, Douglas da Silva, playing for East Bengal, was hauled up by immigration for overstaying in India without a proper visa.
* Chima Okorie encountered income tax-related problems in 1990. He had to leave the country amid allegations of tax evasion; the Nigerian striker even had to spend a long spell abroad. He later got his papers in order and returned to India. He is now the coach of New Delhi Heroes.
* In 2005, the then East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick, who was a senior Central Excise official, was caught red-handed by the CBI near South Club for taking a bribe from a businessman. The case hasn���t yet been closed. It left an indelible black mark in the celebrated coach's CV.
* In October 2004, Shashti Duley and Dipankar Roy - then playing for East Bengal - were arrested for giving shelter to North 24 Pargana criminal Hathkata Dilip. Both Shashti and Dipankar were later acquitted but the episode brought into focus the underworld's influence on Kolkata soccer.