Football Lovers’ Day is observed in memorial to be the most tragic day in Indian football history when 16 football fans died due to a stampede and riot inside the Eden Garden Stadium in Kolkata on 16 August 1980 on the occasion of a Kolkata Derby match in the Calcutta Football League. The Kolkata Derby has been an eternal rivalry between the two oldest clubs in Indian football—Mohun Bagan and East Bengal—and has been featured on the list of FIFA’s Classic Rivalries. The fanaticism around football in Kolkata in the 1970s was unparalleled and the Bangal–Ghoti rivalry was the pinnacle of football rivalries in Asia, as football became an escape from the political turmoil of the 70s in Kolkata. East Bengal had the better of their arch-rivals in the better part of the previous decade by winning almost all trophies between 1970 and 1975. Mohan Bagan were fast growing back into their old stature, winning the Triple Crown in 1978. Just a few months back, the two teams had a bitter clash in the 1980 Federation Cup final, which ended 1-1; both were declared joint winners. Both sets of fans were eager to get the bragging rights and the tempers were already high before the kick-off in the ill-fated Kolkata Derby.

Mohun Bagan was led by Compton Dutta while the East Bengal team was led by Satyajit Mitra. The match began in high intensity as Dilip Palit, who started in an un-orthodox right back position for the Red and Golds and committed a rash foul on Bidesh Bose, who was full of trickery on the left flank, in the 11th minute of the game. The referee, Sudhin Chatterjee, didn’t produce a card for Dilip Palit, which was a shock for all. After the break, a similar incident happened in the 57th minute and Bidesh Ranjan Bose retaliated, which led the referee to give marching orders to the Mohun Bagan left winger while Dilip Palit was again left unpunished. The referee committed another blunder when he gave Dilip Palit marching orders a few moments later as an act of balancing his previous decision. This started a riot in the stadium among both sets of fans.