Booters AWOL for club meeting!
It was a big surprise when Bangladesh coach Fabio Lopez arrived at the pre-match press briefing with his vice captain Jamal Bhuiyan, while skipper Mamunul Islam, who was scheduled to attend, was conspicuously absent. On questioning, it was learnt that Mamunul and eight of his Sheikh Jamal club-mates were 'forcefully taken' to the club tent for a program, a little more than 24 hours before Bangladesh's FIFA World Cup qualifier against Australia.
It was learnt that the program was in fact a negotiation meeting between the players and the Sheikh Jamal president regarding the pending wages of the players. Jamal Bhuiyan, who had already been paid off his wages for the season, was thus spared the meeting, and hence he was able to attend the press conference.
When asked, Lopez said he did not give any permission to the players to leave while team manager Amirul Islam Babu, too, echoed the same sentiment.
Bangladesh Football Federation general secretary, Abu Nayeem Shohag, explained the situation.
“We had asked them [Sheikh Jamal] if the program could be arranged on the morning after the match, but they didn't listen to us. There was no permission given from us. It could be said they have taken the players forcefully,” said Shohag.
But things became more stressed in the evening when Lopez had to conduct half of his pre-match training session without those nine players, before they eventually joined the rest after one-hour's delay. How good the training session and Bangladesh's preparations for their big match against Australia were, in the wake of this incident, could be anybody's guess.
BFF secretary Shohag said that the club in question could face punishment if the matter is deemed punishable by the National Teams' Committee.
Sheikh Jamal president Manzur Kader could not be reached for a comment.
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