The Bangladesh Football Federation’s professional league committee has recommended that some of its own members should be put on the referees committee, top officials said after a meeting at the BFF House on Wednesday. Professional league committee chairman Salam Murshedi said that some top club officials had asked to be put on the referees committee, so his committee decided on principal to make the recommendation to the executive committee.
‘Members of the professional league committee thought that if they were on the referees committee the referees would not be biased, which would make the games more competitive,’ Murshedi said after the meeting.
‘I personally think if any club officials represented the referees committee they would not put any pressure on the referees. But it was just a recommendation. The executive committee is the authority to make a decision on this matter,’ he added.
The professional league committee also again recommended that executive members be allowed to enter the playing field as club officials, a move which was previously rejected by the executive committee.
‘Previously we recommended that [the executive committee] give them permission, but the board rejected this proposal. However, club officials put pressure on us to withdraw the rule, so we have to submit the proposal again,’ Murshedi said.
The committee also scheduled the start of the Federation Cup, which will begin on November 3, but decided not to hold the Federation Shield, the preliminary knockout round that was introduced by the BFF last season. With the decision, district clubs are deprived of a chance to play in the top level.
Ten clubs from the Bangladesh Premier League and seven from the Bangladesh Championship League will participate in the season-opening tournament.
The committee postponed the closing date of the inter-club local players registration window from October 23 to October 31 following requests from clubs officials.
‘Due to Eid-Ul-Azha, the club officials requested to change the closing date of the inter-club local players registration, so we delayed the date,’ said BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Sohag.
-With New Age input
