Wholesale changes urged after Shohag’s ban

Bangladesh's football fraternity was rocked on Friday when FIFA's adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee sanctioned the general secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), Abu Nayeem Shohag, imposing on him a two-year ban from all football-related activities for having used false and/or falsified documents to justify payments made by the BFF with FIFA funds.

Like the fans, the news came as a shock to former national footballers and organisers as well but they were not ready to point fingers only towards Shohag. Instead, they saw it as a collective failure of the governing body of football in the country, currently under the helm of Kazi Salahuddin. 

Former Bangladesh captain Arif Hossain Moon, who claimed to have resigned from the post of the BFF's executive committee in March this year for not being able to stop such irregularities, informed that Shohag was made a scapegoat as he just followed instructions from the top.

"Shohag just became a scapegoat because he did as he was instructed. I wouldn't say it's the board but rather two to four individuals who directed Shohag," Moon said. 

BFF supplied evidences of approvals from FIFA for each of the transactions, however the Adjudicatory Chamber most illegally did not take into consideration such critical evidence and passed the decision communicated on 14 April 2023, which makes it apparent that the decision is not only erroneous and defective but also targetted and biased towards Bangladesh Football Federation -- A statement from the law firm representing Shohag read.

Moon also slammed Salahuddin, saying that the BFF boss has tarnished the image of the country's football as an organiser.

"Kazi Salahuddin's image as a footballer has been tarnished only due to his failure as an organiser. I, still to this moment, have the utmost respect for the former footballer Kazi Salahuddin but I have absolute disgust for organiser Kazi Salahuddin.

"This man [Salahuddin] has deprived a generation of football only because of his ego, stubbornness, and attitude. He has ruined a generation. In every board meeting, some of us have taken the initiative to talk but there is no point because the constitution of the football federation is such that the president is all in all. What can you say there? We have tried a lot from the inside but we couldn't change their mentality," Moon added.

Such accusations of irregularities within BFF are nothing new. Late Badal Roy, another former footballer, and ex-BFF vice-president, had always remained vocal in questioning the financial irregularities of the federation in the past.

Another former captain and coach, Golam Sarwar Tipu, said that the time has come for a massive overhaul in Bangladesh football, and urged for a change in the entire BFF management in order to improve the standard of football in the country.

"Things won't change just by replacing Shohag as those who are in control at the moment, they might appoint someone else and guide the person in a similar manner. But obviously, I would like to see some good changes. But what else can you expect from this management as they will only say they are sad. I don't think things will change under this management," said Tipu.

While another former national striker Sheikh Mohammad Aslam, who also was an executive committee member of BFF from 2008 to 2016, said that the incident will drag the country's football through the mud.