The second tier Bangladesh Championship League match between Farasahganj Sporting Club and Wari was fixed, the Bangladesh Football Federation confirmed after a long investigation on Saturday. BFF’s professional league committee in their next meeting on August 24 will now decide on the punishment for the offence, the first of its kind in the history of Bangladesh football.
Earlier in 2010-11, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society were widely accused of playing a fixed match but for reasons unknown to all the BFF avoided the word ‘fixing’ and concluded that the clubs played just a ‘compromise game’.
‘After a long investigation we came to a conclusion that the match was fixed,’ said BFF’s senior vice-president Abdus Salam Murshedi. ‘There were clearly some abnormalities in the match’s video footage.
‘We will finalise the punishment in the next meeting and I can assure you the perpetrators will get the highest punishment.’
‘Match-fixing is a huge crime so the guilty will not get any sympathy from the BFF,’ said Salam.
Farashganj finished second in the points table, but the BFF has not approved the points table yet.
The BFF said it will finalise the standings of the league once they announce the verdict of match-fixing scandal.
According to the by-laws of the league, the BFF can dock at least six points if any club is found to have played a fixed match. In addition to that the club will lose the points it earned from the corresponding match, meaning Farashganj can now lose as many as nine points for the offence.
It will, however, have little impact on the club, who can still finish runners-up and earn a promotion in the top-tier Bangladesh Premier League
Farashganj finished the campaign with 35 points from 18 matches, nine points clear of third place holders Agrani Bank Sporting Club.
If they are docked nine points, they will still remain ahead of Agrani Bank on goal difference.
The BFF cleared Agrani Bank and Badda Jagaroni Sangsad as it did not find any abnormality in their match on May 20.
-With New Age input
