Mohammedan threaten to boycott last match

Mohammedan Sporting Club need a victory over title contenders Abahani Limited in today's last match of Green Delta Premier Division Hockey League to regain the prestigious title but the league leaders are hesitant to play their last match over the issue of Rasel Mahmud Jimmy's suspension.

As per the bylaws, Jimmy has been handed a one-match suspension after receiving yellow cards against Bangladesh Police, Dhaka Mariner Youngs Club and Usha KC respectively, thus the veteran player will miss the Abahani match.

However, Mohammedan SC sense there is a 'conspiracy' at play against them and have appealed the league committee to withdraw Jimmy's suspension, threatening to skip their last match otherwise.

"As per the bylaws, we were supposed to be informed about Jimmy's issue after he received his second yellow card, but the federation didn't inform us. So, we were not aware of the issue," said Mohammedan SC manager Ariful Haque Prince at a press conference at the club premises yesterday.

"Jimmy was intentionally given a yellow card in our last match following an argument, so that he cannot play the vital match against Abahani. This is a conspiracy to make our squad weaker because Jimmy is our key player," he said, adding that they would skip today's match if the suspension is not withdrawn.

Bangladesh Hockey Federation general secretary AKM Mominul Haque Sayeed said, "We don't have the right to go against the rules and regulations. They [Mohammedan] alleged that we did not inform them after Jimmy received two yellow cards. We have already sent them the evidence, a document that Mohammedan SC manager had signed. It is clear that we will not consider anything which goes against the rules and regulations," said Sayeed.

In reply, Mohammedan SC manager Prince said, "We are waiting for the reply from the federation and our board of directors will take the decision whether to play tomorrow's [today] match or not."

Meanwhile, the title race remains wide open with contenders Mohammedan (35 points), Abahani (34) and Mariners (34) all set to play their last league match today.