The first quarter-final between Mohammedan Sporting Club and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club was postponed on Thursday, just four hours before the game was scheduled to start, due to safety concerns stemming from the country’s unstable political situation.
The match is now set to be played at 5:00pm today.The match was set to start at 5:00pm on Thursday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
The Bangladesh Football Federation made the decision to postpone the match after the Dhaka Metropolitan Police refused to send adequate security forces to the stadium.
The DMP usually send five or six platoons for stadium security, but this time they informed the BFF that due to citywide political unrest they could not provide security on Thursday.
‘We were forced to defer the match because the DMP declined to ensure security at the stadium,’ BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag said on Thursday.
‘They [DMP] agreed to give maximum five or six policemen to ensure the security, but it was not enough to ensure the protection of the stadium,’ he added.
A large number of fans, particularly Mohammedan supporters, turned up at the stadium before the scheduled start time and expressed their disappointment at not being informed earlier of the decision to postpone the match.
-With New Age input
