The Bangladesh Hockey Federation came down strongly on rebel leaders, handing Hockey Players’ Welfare Association chief Russell Khan Bappi a lifetime ban on Tuesday for creating a disturbance in national camp, engaging in undisciplined behaviour and assaulting national coach Naveed Alam.
The BHF also suspended HPWA secretary Ariful Haque Prince for 10 years and senior players Asaduzzaman Chandan of Abahani Limited and Usha Krira Chakra’s Ashikuzzaman and Shamsuddin Tuhin for five years each for the same offence.
Former player and joint secretary of the Abahani hockey committee Shahidullah Dolon was also suspended for five years for sending threatening messages to national team forward Russell Mahmud Jimmy.
The suspensions were decided upon at an emergency BHF meeting in the wake of the resumption of the players’ Asia Cup camp boycott and player leaders storming into a briefing room to squabble with the coach.
BHF vice-president Abdus Sadek, who presided over the meeting in the absence of BHF president Air Marshal Enamul Bari, read out the punishment and added that they will also consider legal action against the troublemakers.
‘We will now discuss with our lawyers what action can be taken against the culprits,’ Sadek told reporters.
Bappi and Prince, who led the players, appeared unconcerned about their bans. Bappi claimed that he received a lifetime ban because he always raised his voice for the greater interests of hockey and of the players.
`BHF gave me a life ban for raising my voice against injustice. They gave me punishment because I always talk about the players’ logical demands,’ he said.
‘If I got a life ban, then Dolon deserves to be hanged for sending threatening SMS’ to Jimmy,’ Bappi said.
Prince added that the suspension did not come as a surprise.
`I thought that they [BHF] would also give me a lifetime ban because it was all pre-planned to harass to us,’ Prince said.
Meanwhile, all the players returned to the camp after the BHF gave them a 4:00 pm ultimatum. Federation officials called the players after the meeting and told them they were free to leave if they were unwilling to join the camp before the deadline.
National players had resumed their boycott on
Monday, demanding that the inter-club player transfer take place and that legal action be taken against Shaidullah Dolon, who confessed to sending a threatening SMS to Jimmy.
National team coach Naveed Alam was happy to see his players rejoining the camp.
`It’s nice to see the boys at the hockey ground,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t help if anyone disturbs my team during our preparation for the Asia Cup.’
-With New Age input
