The suspended hockey players have accused Bangladesh Hockey Federation officials of having double standards for filing a police case against them and ruining their Eid celebrations.
The BHF filed a case on July 31 against five hockey players – Russell Khan Bappy, Ariful Haque Prince, Asaduzzaman Chandan, Ashikuzzaman and Shamsuddin Tuhin – for allegedly assaulting national team coach Naveed Alam and creating a disturbance in the Asia Cup camp.
The case was filed a day after the BHF imposed bans of varying durations on the players including a life ban for Hockey Players Welfare Association president Bappy and a 10-year ban on general secretary Prince.
The accused players have already been granted an eight-week bail by the High Court.
At a press conference at the Dhaka Mariner Youngs club premises on Wednesday, the players accused the federation of taking these harsh steps to stop them from raising their voice.
`We were shocked to see the federation filing a case against us,’ Bappy told the press conference. ‘In the past many hockey players had been disciplined by the federation, but never there was a police case.’
The players said that BHF general secretary Khaja Rahmatullah led a similar national camp boycott in 1996, also over inter-club player transfers, but he avoided punishment.
The players also noted that Rahmatullah was himself arrested in a criminal case in 1994 and the players launched a nationwide protest to set him free.
`By forgetting his past, Rahmatullah has taken hockey to a new low and created history,’ Prince said. ‘He filed cases against national players who have not even received a red card during their playing careers.’
Prince also pointed a finger at BHF member Mahbubul Ehsan Rana, who got a life ban for hitting an umpire during a match between Abahani and Mohammedan in 2003. Though Rana left the umpire bloodied, the federation did not file a criminal case against him.
Another member of the BHF, Mamunur Rashid, was also suspended for recruiting national team players to play for Usha KC while he was an assistant coach of the national team in 2006.
‘The BHF lifted their suspensions later without causing them any sufferings, but now they have suspended us for raising our voice for a legitimate cause,’ said Prince.
-With New Age input
